State: Mommy, tell my professor he’s not nice!
Most of my run-ins with today’s youth occur online. I have to admit, many of them seem disturbingly dependent on their parents, or very under-developed emotionally. They lack many traits such as independence or responsibility. You can tell they’re the center of their parents’ world and haven’t been taught that they aren’t the center of everyone else’s world too.
The person in that article who said it’s better than parents not being involved at all does have a certain point. However, it’s pretty much like every other issue I start looking at–nearly any extreme viewpoint or behavior seems to cause real problems. “Moderation in all things” remains a fantastic phrase to live by, no matter what I find myself looking at.
Sure, be involved in your kids’ lives; but do it from a few steps back. Encourage them to walk on their own while you keep your eyes on them. Let them stumble now and then and figure out how to recover; give them encouragement and suggestions without swooping in to “save” them. Otherwise they never learn to do it on their own.
Wrapping them in a bubble and protecting them from the world all their lives is doing them just as much of a disservice as kicking them out into the cold without any safety net at a young age. You’re family; you’re supposed to be teaching your kids how to grow up and be people. You do that by giving them gradually more independence as they get older, giving them suggestions and advice but ultimately letting them make more and more of the decisions themselves.
As usual, link found on FARK
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