Raising Children

Every generation thinks they have figured out the "right" way to raise their kids.  I remember when my kids were growing up I swore not to repeat the mistakes of my parents.  They, in turn, thought many of the things we were doing were wrong.  This is just the way each generation handles child rearing.  The current parents are no exception.  They think they're doing the right things, which leads me to the assumption that they thought we were NOT doing the right thing.

Too strict, not strict enough, too many rules, not enough rules, too cautious, not cautious enough.  Which is right?  The answer is that there is no right or wrong.  Each parent has to find what works for them and their child.  Some children need more rules than others, so what works for one child may not work for another.

I do have one criticism of parents today.  Well, actually two.  First, why do kids have to have so much of everything?  Why does their closet have to look like a Toys R Us store?  Toys today are fantastic, but kids have a mind and an imagination which is not being used today as it was in years past.  Kids used to throw a scarf over their shoulders and pretend to be Superman.  Today they want the store bought Superman cape.  No imagination!  Kids used to go in the backyard and build a fort out of sticks and whatever was lying around.  Now, the parents go and buy them a pre made fort or house for the yard.  They don't get to use their imaginations.  The other thing that really bugs me is that many children are not taught the proper way to behave when going to a restaurant.  Some children run around the restaurant, stand up at the table, or yell.  Some parents do little if anything about this behavior.  I never would let my kids behave that way.  We would go home immediately if the children misbehaved.

Whether we like how parents are raising the children or not, they will all grow up to be pretty normal.  They all make it, regardless of what parents do.  I try really hard not to criticize my children's child rearing.  They are all fantastic parents, and are doing what they think is best, just as we did.