Unprotective Parenting

I have often thought exactly this, but couldn't put it into better words.  This post comes from a great blog called Teach The Younger Women.  I really enjoy her heartfelt wisdom filled writing.  Family members have often said their is no point in being a protective parent, and I have never been able to put into words her perfect response. 

 

 "The world sends  a very strong message by insinuation: it’s wrong to be over-protective, but it’s not wrong to be under-protective. They say that if you’re going to make a mistake, make a mistake in being loose, in playing fast and free, in not protecting enough." 

 

In other words if you don't take responsibility then you can't really be at fault.

 

The world says that one thing you don’t want to do as a parent is be “over” protective.  And we’ve attached all kinds of insulting words to it:
Hovering.
Smothering.
Babying.
Coddling.
Sheltering.

 The world sends  a very strong message by insinuation: it’s wrong to be over-protective, but it’s not wrong to be under-protective. They say that if you’re going to make a mistake, make a mistake in being loose, in playing fast and free, in not protecting enough.

Because, according to worldly thinking the one big parenting sin is protecting too much.
Really?
In a world of texting and Facebook, bullying in schools and internet sin is it time for hands off or hands on? 

 In our fear of being over-protective, we’ve been under-protective.
We let culture dictate what is normal; if “everyone” is doing it, wearing it, seeing it, going to it, or listening to it, then we feel we will be doing our child damage if we don’t go along.
But parenting by “everyone” is madness.

 

And if we do it, we’re putting our children’s very childhood at risk.
The assumption with parenting is simple:  your children are immature and need your maturity.  Yet some parents are more eager to be liked, or accepted by their kids, than they are to be parents to their kids.
So instead of being active, they’re passive.
And in so doing, they drop their protective guard.
The very idea of childhood is that there is a time when a young person is sheltered from certain ideas, experiences, practices, expectations and knowledge. 

 

Read the rest HERE