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?
Spend enough time wrangling a toddler, and you get good at being kind but firm. Like your child, you must be doggedly single-minded when it matters.
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.
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.
Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think that their children are naive.
That's exactly the way parents develop positive, successful kids. Don't look for the flaws, warts, and blemishes. Look for the gold, not for the dirt; the good, not the bad. Look for the positive aspects of life. Like everything else, the more good qualities we look for in our children, the more good qualities we are going to find.
You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are in Armani cloth sacks - especially in a time like ours, when materialism is not only rampant and ascendant but is fast becoming the only game in town.
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