Another parent's different approach raises the possibility that you've made a mistake with your child. We simply can't tolerate that because we fear that any mistake, no matter how minor, could have devastating consequences. So we proclaim the superiority of our own choices. We've lost sight of the fact that people have preferences.
Interpretation
Parents often feel threatened by alternative parenting styles, leading them to defend their own choices rather than recognizing individual preferences.
In this quote, Ayelet Waldman reflects on how parents may react defensively when faced with different parenting approaches. This defensiveness stems from a fear of being judged or believing that any mistake in parenting could lead to negative outcomes for their children. Consequently, they may assert the superiority of their methods instead of acknowledging that different children and families might require unique strategies. The essence of the quote is a reminder of the diversity in parenting and the importance of tolerance and understanding in accepting differing viewpoints.
In practice
During a parenting seminar about different styles, you could share this quote to open discussion about acceptance.
Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in the world, the truth is that the vast majority of youth offenders will one day be released. The question is simple and stark. Do we want to help them change or do we want to help them become even more violent and dangerous?
Those who do too much for their children will soon find they can do nothing with their children. So many children have been so much done for they are almost done in.
This is how I learn most of what I know about my children and their friends: by sitting in the driver's seat and keeping quiet.
Like many people of my generation, I feel like I survived my adolescent mischief only by a miracle, and it seems too much to hope for that the same miracle would befall my children - therefore, I want to make sure they take fewer chances than I did.
The real questions for parents should be: "Are you engaged? Are you paying attention?" If so, plan to make lots of mistakes and bad decisions. Imperfect parenting moments turn into gifts as our children watch us try to figure out what went wrong and how we can do better next time. The mandate is not to be perfect and raise happy children. Perfection doesn't exist, and I've found what makes children happy doesn't always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.
Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think that their children are naive.
There's nothing to be gained, and much to be lost, in trying to bend every child to match a one-size-fits-all notion of what it means to be a boy or girl of a specific age. Better to set a few parameters and then go with the flow. Call it 'jazz parenting.'
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