I picked up a book this morning about how to raise boys that mentions the fact that American society as a whole lives at a pace much faster than in the past. Families are not spending as much time together. Nobody really talks anymore, outside of technology devices (I am thankful for technology, don't get me wrong, but it is a problem for some). Parents are working outside of the home more and kids are in daycare for longer. Meals are rushed, which makes for less time to actually connect. The book states, "Multitasking is fine, unless parenting becomes just another task on the list of things to do."
As much as I'm working on finding a solution for my son, I can't help but think of American society as a whole and how broken it has become. I see parenting as an honor, a chance to make things better for the world and for them to be better off then I was. I am trying to produce two amazing people who can hopefully contribute to this world in a positive way. But I see so many people parenting because they have to, not because they want to. I didn't plan to be a parent when I did, but I took the responsibility in stride and seriously.
As I get older and learn more about other people and other ways of living, I am finding that even though we are all doing things that seem completely different, we all still have a lot in common. For example, I have a friend who has had military experience and no kids. But when I hear him talk about his time in the military it reminds me of my parenting style. I see similarities in how things are run on a daily basis. Another friend owns his own business. I can see similarities in how the business is run with several employees to my parenting style as well. This realization made me feel as though we are all geared towards finding a hierarchy no matter if you have kids or not, whether it's home life or work. Several situations in life require you to "parent" others in order to be successful as a leader. Or you will be required to be the "child" if you choose to be the one following. We need both in life. So I can see how my skills as a parent are helping me in other parts of my life and why I tend to strive to be the leader versus being led. Now to figure out how to instill this in my children and teach them to control their emotions so that they can work for them rather than against them.
I am still working on that part. To be continued...
