Child rearing…

Children don’t get enough credit. Because our kids are dependent on us and they (generally) do what we say, we somehow think that the parent child relationship goes only in one direction—when in fact we are as much subject to our children’s influences as they are subject to ours. Like every parent, I parented as best I knew how. But an interesting thing happened that I could never have predicted: if my child did not like the way I was parenting, she would tell me so—and, much of the time, I listened to her! Now, people congratulate me on the incredible child I raised, but I know the truth: whatever satisfaction I can take in my own efforts as a parent, my child’s mother (an incredible parent in her own right) and my child deserve much of the credit for who my child is and has always been.