Parenting is one of the toughest jobs ever. But maybe it is so harrowing because we are doing way too much. Like, we are volunteering in classrooms and crafting elaborate parties and orchestrating perfectly busy summer schedules and managing every move our kiddos make. Are we so involved in our kids’ experiences that we are doing them a disservice?
Jen Hatmaker, author and mom of five, says YES—yes, we are. Hatmaker keeps herself in check by asking, “What would my mom do?” Her mom, she says, would drink some Tab (Tab! Do you remember Tab?) and lock the kids outside because kids played outside all day long in the 1970s when Hatmaker grew up. Parents then “didn’t worry endlessly, interfere constantly, safeguard needlessly, or overprotect religiously,” she shared with the Today Parenting team. They just raised us. And we turned out fine.” Hatmaker said “A good parent prepares the child for the path, not the path for the child. We can still demonstrate gentle and attached parenting without raising children who melt on a warm day.”
We believe that it is probably wise to strike a balance while parenting. You know, being present yet not continually helicoptering at close range. Balance will surely help us to not make parenting more crazy than it is. Because a little crazy goes a long way. Are we right?