Kim Says

Time Magazine had a very lengthy article on over-parenting today. As I read what crazy stuff parents all over the country are doing these days, I stopped to think.  I have a granddaughter now. (Soon, I will have a grandson.) The granddaughter is clearly over-parented. She is afraid of her own shadow! At five years old, she still carries around a blankie and sucks her thumb. She has never been taught to sit up at the dinner table. She doesn’t even go outside in her own fenced in back yard alone. Her mother will never tell her, “just rub some dirt on it, you’ll be fine”.  

Maybe my daughter is telling me that she felt her childhood was too harsh, therefore, her child will be coddled. Our household mantra was, “Take care of yourself because no one else is going to do it for you”.  

I don’t know that doing all the thinking for your child is a wise idea, neither is keeping them bubble wrapped so they can never be hurt. Children are being set up for failure, or worse yet thoughtless moderation. You have to skin your knee a few times before you master two wheels.  Competition is dead, everyone gets a trophy. Thinking outside the box is a no-no, conform to the masses. Whatever happened to learning to be your own person?