As parents, we want everything fixed by the time our child hits 3rd grade. We strive for academic perfection, or at least that our child score as well as our neighbor’s child. I have to wonder what is going on here; why is that we can’t let our young children develop at the raggedy, messy pace that is natural for them? Why is it that we ignore our child’s intrinsic strengths in an effort to push toward our notion of extraordinary achievement?
If the pressure to be special gets too intense, children may end up with ailments that they may carry throughout their lives, sleep disorders, eating disorders, anxiety, etc. All casualties of their parents drive for perfection.
Our children are not our masterpieces, they are not even really ours. They are ours on loan, and each one has a unique path that is completely theirs to follow. All we should really do is help pave the way a little so that they can find the path more easily.
A Hasidic teaching says “If your child has a talent to be a baker, don’t ask him to be a doctor.”
by Vanessa Barnett
{photo: flickr}
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