Raising children isn’t easy. Sometimes we have no idea what
they are thinking. Sometimes we have all we can do to make sure they
are safe, fed, and don’t hurt each other too much when they fight.
Parent: I bungled along and things went pretty smoothly
until Sarah, the oldest, reached junior high. At that point
she was mature enough to rebel in a way that caused me to
call my parenting practices into question. I think I tended to
follow a modified version of the parenting practices of my own
upbringing: parents have complete authority; children are to
be obedient without question. Thankfully, Sarah rebelled and
I realized that I could not, and should not control my children.
I learned to listen, to recognize my children as individuals, to
respect their ideas and concerns. My greatest regret in life is
that I didn’t learn this sooner. I don’t mean to imply that this
was an easy transition, nor that I executed it flawlessly. It is,
however, the single greatest contribution that shaped my ideas
concerning parenting.
From Raising Children in the Fabric of Faithfulness: Parents and Children Describe What Works
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