Do Our Kids Value Our Involvement?
May 6th, 2009 by tsullivanI ran aross this column in Newsweek from a really involved who was struck that her daughter chose “dad” as role model on a school assignment. Not “mom & dad”, just dad.
I realize that’s not the warmest, fuzziest topic for Mother’s Day week, but the column does provide a unique perspective for all of us really involved school parents. Can we be too involved? Is it OK if our kids don’t value all the involvement now? Will they value it later?
Give it a read and post your thoughts. I’ll jump back in with some more thoughts on this one (especially on the fairly heated debate in the comments section) soon….
May 7th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I have not read all of the comments following the Newsweek article but quite a few seem off base.
Why would anyone assume that by choosing her dad as role model this teen did not value her mother’s contribution? In my experience teens are still trying to find their identity and dad is an important part of that search. Adults, including the writer of the article, turn this into a competition not the kids.
In another ten years let’s ask this teen to reflect on the contributions her parents made to her life and I bet we will find an answer that includes both mom and dad.