Parenting is indeed a challenge. And there are more than one school of thought and the key, I believe, to raising the best kids depend on balance and constant guidance. Parents are not created to deal with this alone. In fact, it is God who created our children and entrusted them to us. We have to constantly ask for God's help in raising these kids. There is no Bachelor's Degree in Parenting, Major in Preschool Age or in Young Adolescent Stage. There are no certificate courses on How to Deal with A Daughter's First Heartbreak or Rebellious Son Management.
Whatever your parenting style: doting, free-hand, structured, or whatever else, there is no single fool-proof style. How kids grow up does not depend on the kids themselves. Visualize a potter. The potter is God. You, as a parent or guardian, are God's apprentice in forming the clay. And those kids, they are precious clay, as we all are. God's work on our children are never finished. As parents, we have to mind our "clay", especially in those early years which are as important (even more, according to most studies) as the rest of their years, even way beyond the legal requirement for taking care of them. I mean, even when they get married and have families of their own, the average Filipino parent still is concerned and wonders every now and then about their kids. It's just natural.
So back to the potter, and the apprentice and the clay... again, it's a never ending process. And no one has the right to say that his or her parenting style is the best, because as pottery is an art, parenting is relative... and yes, it's also an art.
:-)
Whatever your parenting style: doting, free-hand, structured, or whatever else, there is no single fool-proof style. How kids grow up does not depend on the kids themselves. Visualize a potter. The potter is God. You, as a parent or guardian, are God's apprentice in forming the clay. And those kids, they are precious clay, as we all are. God's work on our children are never finished. As parents, we have to mind our "clay", especially in those early years which are as important (even more, according to most studies) as the rest of their years, even way beyond the legal requirement for taking care of them. I mean, even when they get married and have families of their own, the average Filipino parent still is concerned and wonders every now and then about their kids. It's just natural.
So back to the potter, and the apprentice and the clay... again, it's a never ending process. And no one has the right to say that his or her parenting style is the best, because as pottery is an art, parenting is relative... and yes, it's also an art.
:-)