Responsible Parenting

Parenting is the toughest job in the world. We ask ourselves each day if we are nurturing our kids the right way and worry ourselves silly about their future. I don't pretend that I'm a perfect parent, the fact is that I'm not. I make mistakes because I'm human after all but I try my best to instill values in my children and steer them in the right direction.

The moment I was entrusted with the responsibility to care for and nurture a child, my sole goal was to ensure her survival in this world when I am no longer around. I believe that at some time or another, our children need to be independent from us, as although we would all love to live forever, the fact remains that we will not. That's why I have a beef with some parents whom I feel is just plain irresponsible.

These are parents who love their children so much they fail to see that they are spoiling them. How, you ask? By blaming their mistakes on fate and others because their children could do no wrong. They may think that they are doing that out of extreme love for their children but the fact is, their children are unable to fend for themselves because they were never taught how to. How long do they suppose they can molly-coddle their children? We all have to go back to our Maker some time or another, so what happens to these children, or adults who are so used to having someone cover for their mistakes?

It's irresponsible parenting when the parents claim that they've done all they can while they are alive and can't care for what happens to the children after they are long gone. I could only think that they are selfish because after they are dead, the kids will be left to fend for themselves, something of which they were never taught in the first place. That's not being entirely fair to them. Strangely some folks seem to feel this way. Certainly, that's akin to throwing the kids into the far end of the pool, so to speak, without first teaching them how to swim. As parents, it is our responsibility to nurture our children and ensure that they are fully equipped to survive on their own.

I make no apologies for how I feel about such parents. It matters not to me either whether these are young inexperienced parents or old folks who should have known better. The fact remains that they had a hand in how their children turned out, and fate has got nothing to do with it.