My "little" boys...
Often times as parents we want to give our children “a better life,” then what we had growing up, but how do we define “better?”
Last night I was listening to Heshie Segal’s interview of Dr. Dennis Waitley, and he made this comment, ” Give your children roots and wings and less loot and things.” It made really made me think…
In today’s society, we often allow material things to play a huge role in our lives. We want our kids to have the latest and greatest game consoles, the most expensive name brands, we GIVE them nicer cars then we ourselves drive, and the list goes on and on…
Perhaps sometimes maybe we’re “buying” their love and affection, or they’ll think we’re “cool parents” if we buy them this or that. However, if you think about it – are we really doing them a disservice?
In fact, I can remember one time, when I was a little girl, I overheard my dad talking to one of my aunts. He told her that there were many things that he and my mom could buy us (my sisters and I) but they intentionally didn’t. Back then, I was hurt…I thought, “Gee, why would they do that to us?” But now, as a mother myself, I KNOW they wanted us to grow up understanding the value of money. They knew that if we were responsible financially for some of our own pleasures, we’d take pride and better care of those things we earned ourselves.
As our children grow up, and they become the next generation of adults, can we say we really gave them the better things in life? Did we teach them values, respect, morals, good judgment, and responsibility? These are the products we should worry about giving our children.
Once they’re ready to “fly the coup” can we honestly look ourselves in the mirror and say we planted good seeds? Did we help our children grow their wings, so they can mature and fly out on their own? Or will we regret handing everything over to them on a silver platter, hindering them as adults?
Tags: Parenting
