I think my wife and I did our best to raise our boys, Now I can tell there is always room for improvement, sadly we (Most of us, I’m sure) notice years later that we missed an opportunity or two to go the extra mile for them, but all in all, we are confident we did good
Years ago, my wife and I did similar things with our kids. The most important one was that we spent time listening to what they had to say as they spilled their hopes, fears, desires, and observations about the world around them. We didn’t try to think for them. At 4 years, we helped them learn to read and then turned them loose to absorb knowledge developed by all sorts of other people – good, bad, and shades in between.
Our mantra to them was that of Riki-Tiki-Tavi – "Run and find out. As they did, then they came running back to explain what they thought they had learned, and to discuss with us why they thought it was (or was not) so. Early on I lost track of how many times their viewpoints (which of course differed from mine since they were expected and encouraged to be individuals) caused me to be first surprised, then thoughtful, and then to modify my own view of the subject of the moment. We learned with them, and they saw us do that, so were encouraged to continue.
Within the last year, my daughter – now 39 – and my son – now 36 – both have come to me and quietly said (paraphrased, of course) “Thank you, Dad, for you and Mom caring so much about us and for teaching us so well, and for presenting us the gifts of such deep wells of experience with which to approach life.” Both have told me that they never felt they were disparaged or ignored or unloved. And both still are very communicative with me, still asking my aid (in reasonable ways, mostly for advice) and wanting just to keep in touch.
rekam Premium Member over 4 years ago
Mimi is so spoiled. Seems like her parents have nothing better to do than cater to her all the time.
jagedlo over 4 years ago
Daddy’s little girl…
sufamelico over 4 years ago
I think my wife and I did our best to raise our boys, Now I can tell there is always room for improvement, sadly we (Most of us, I’m sure) notice years later that we missed an opportunity or two to go the extra mile for them, but all in all, we are confident we did good
jmworacle over 4 years ago
There’s Ollie, where’s Kukala and Fran?
SrTechWriter over 4 years ago
Years ago, my wife and I did similar things with our kids. The most important one was that we spent time listening to what they had to say as they spilled their hopes, fears, desires, and observations about the world around them. We didn’t try to think for them. At 4 years, we helped them learn to read and then turned them loose to absorb knowledge developed by all sorts of other people – good, bad, and shades in between.
Our mantra to them was that of Riki-Tiki-Tavi – "Run and find out. As they did, then they came running back to explain what they thought they had learned, and to discuss with us why they thought it was (or was not) so. Early on I lost track of how many times their viewpoints (which of course differed from mine since they were expected and encouraged to be individuals) caused me to be first surprised, then thoughtful, and then to modify my own view of the subject of the moment. We learned with them, and they saw us do that, so were encouraged to continue.
Within the last year, my daughter – now 39 – and my son – now 36 – both have come to me and quietly said (paraphrased, of course) “Thank you, Dad, for you and Mom caring so much about us and for teaching us so well, and for presenting us the gifts of such deep wells of experience with which to approach life.” Both have told me that they never felt they were disparaged or ignored or unloved. And both still are very communicative with me, still asking my aid (in reasonable ways, mostly for advice) and wanting just to keep in touch.
Just the thought of that makes my day, every day.