Friday, December 3, 2010

Yes, your kid is great, but...

In light of some things I've heard, witnessed or experienced, I've been thinking a lot about being a mom and wanting the best for my children. Think about it. We all want the best for our children. We expect the best for them, and in some cases, we demand the best for them. But, is this the right thing to do when it means someone is getting hurt in the meantime?

Pause for a second and think about how involved you may be in your child's education. As a teacher, I see varying degrees of parental involvement. I'm very lucky that my daughter goes to a very reputable, small school where I have chosen to send her because I know the quality of education she's receiving is second to none. This school offers many unique learning opportunities for all students. And, frankly, some people (parents) have been abusing this fact in a manner that in the normal classroom setting would be called "bullying". (I will graciously and professionally leave that at that.)

The other event that led me to think more about this is a piece that was aired on our local CBC radio station. It is the story of a young mother who has witnessed  the worst in "hockey parent" behaviour in local rinks. She's speaking out to stop it. She wants parents to step back and look at their behaviours when it comes to their kids. She has a reason to speak that you need to hear. Please take the 5 minutes to listen to her story... especially if you have kids in organized sports. Her message is clear, succinct, and heartfelt.

So, although we all want the best for our children, I think it's time that many of us step back as parents and look at out actions, listen to our words with a fresh perspective, look at our children and hug them, look at the children around our kids and realize they are someone else's pride and joy. More importantly, we need to remember the messages we as adults are inadvertently sending our children when we lash out as a hockey mom, when we chastise another child, when step on the high and mighty pedestal and expect the world to bow to our orders.

Please, listen to one woman's story.
Please, take time to reflect.

They are all children.
They are all our children.

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Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post! ~Dawn