Well, I do. But I've been blessed with some magnificent parents. And the parents I'm referring to in the header are not bad parents, they're simply misguided. Now, I know what you're asking yourself; "Why has he waited this long to make a new post only to bore us with complaints about some unknown set of parents?" Well, the answer to that is simple: because I can. It's my review and I'll rant if I want to. Besides, I figured I had enough posts about cheese to last me for a while so I thought I'd change it up.
To start this off, I want to make it clear that I'm not discounting how hard it must be to be a parent. Obviously, I've never taken a stab at it so I have no clue, though I imagine it to be a pretty arduous task. Additionally, I'm sure it's hard not to have a "favorite" child if you have more than one. It's human nature; we automatically gravitate toward someone or something we have in common with or are intrigued by. I guess I can't blame someone for being human. That said, I think the key would be to do your best to make sure each child feels loved, respected, and important. Equal distribution of praise is in order here. Make sure when you're talking to child A that you're not talking about how great child B is, especially if child A is working her ass off to make you proud. Again, this is criticism coming from an inexperienced source. I'm trying to tell the architect how to design a house. This is simply an observation from an outsider who is frustrated by many of the inside glimpses he catches.
I probably can't go into much more detail without making obvious who the subject is. I guess this is just frustration working itself out through a keyboard. I'm frustrated partly because I can't do anything to change the behavior and partly because I can't do anything to bring attention to it either. I'm not in a position to stand up and point out what I think is faulty in someone's parenting techniques. What's the old saying? Don't throw stones in a glass house?
I think the bottom line is that no one is perfect (duh) and everyone makes mistakes (again...). But everyone has the ability to completely effect the lives of the people around them and that goes double for parents. Do you want to be the person who makes everyone around you feel important and accomplished or are you going to be too preoccupied or too one-track minded to notice your daughter is not only a stellar student but also a talented, intelligent, beautiful human being who, more than anything, needs your support, love, and recognition? If I was a parent, I'd opt for the former...
