Monday, March 1, 2010

When I was a child....

When I was a child, I thought all parents were like my parents.
When I was a child, I thought all parents cared for their children, taught them right from wrong, did all they could to mold these ever-changing beings into responsible adults; into good people.
When I was a child, I assumed all parents were good people.
When I was a child, I didn't know how wrong I was.

Some parents are too self-centered to truly care about their children.
Some parents are too manipulative to think about right and wrong for themselves, let alone instill such a sense into their children.
Some parents tell so many lies, it's impossible to teach their children how to be honest.
Some parents never bothered to grow up themselves, so have no way to show their children how to be grown up.
Some parents are so busy trying to appear perfect to the rest of the world, they don't see that their children see them as anything but.
Some parents will never see what a far-reaching effect they have on their children.
Some parents will never see just how much damage they cause.

When I was a child, I thought all parents were like my parents.
When I was a child, I didn't know how lucky I was.

****

tell it to me tuesdays

12 comments:

cfoxes33 said...

Amen and Amen! I loved this post. My daughter has a friend who has some of these issues with their parent.

Kirsten said...

I love this post. I didn't realize that all people didn't have common sense until I was an adult. I thought all people were rationale because my dad was. I jokingly blamed him for giving me unrealistic expectations of the "real world".

Jade @ Tasting Grace said...

What a powerful post and so true. It's amazing how true. Even in the blogging world, a couple of the mothers I've come across do exactly these things to their children. And you wouldn't expect it! You'd expect these mom would have it together because hello? They're blogging about motherhood - you'd think they'd be most careful. But no, they bring their children into their pain and use them to soothe their hurts or insecurities, never stopping once to think of what the cost is for their child. Their child, who is trying to save their mother, and who must wonder why they're never enough.

Heheh...I guess you can see I have strong feelings about this. But I avoid engaging with those mommy bloggers so I don't end up leaving a comment to that effect. The only thing I can imagine them responding is "You don't know me. You don't know my family. So butt out." And they're right, I don't. But through what they do share, even a stranger like me can tell.

Ariadne said...

So true. Beautiful post.

Samantha said...

Amen.... And it was really not until I became a teacher did I realize just how pervasive bad-parenting is, how fully self-absorbed some adults are, and how deep the pain is suffered by children at the hands of supposedly caring adults.

Anonymous said...

It must be heart-wrenching to be a teacher and see the negative effects so many parents have on their children. Too much damage already done. As a parent, it's one of my biggest fears.

Bacardi Mama said...

The post title kind of scared me. Glad I kept on reading. Love you!

koreen (aka: winn) said...

So true. Some parents suck. Enough said.

Corinne Cunningham said...

This is so very true, and well put.

Heart2Heart said...

What a great post and so so very true. We don't know how fortunate we are until we are with someone else and see a completely different side of things.

In case you get the chance, stop by my blog today for a great opportunity to enter another giveaway I'm doing.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

InTheFastLane said...

Amen!
I see it everyday.
Good parents are such a blessing.

MaddyChristine Hope-Brokopp said...

I wish I had good parents, cause the damage parents can cause children will take a life time to fix.