Hot Topic Thursday: You’re Doing It Wrong

 
I told you on Monday that today was going to be one that you would have to wait for. So what is that you are doing wrong? Parenting, of course! That is what I was told recently. That I was raising my children wrong and guess what? That’s okay! I am more than comfortable with the knowledge that my children are somewhere in the middle when it comes to being adults.
What does that mean exactly? Well this person who shall remain nameless told me that because I didn’t push my children to do more and learn more they  would be middle class adults. Whatever the heck that means! Her children do all sorts of extra activities like languages, music, every sport known to man, and more. Want to take a guess at what they don’t do? Be children. At least to me they don’t. Nope I don’t make my children learn nine different languages. The naturally speak three as we use those languages regularly in our home. I speak four but it was because I chose to learn two of them. 

As someone who grew up the overachiever in a house where the others what could be considered average I know the  pressure put on by parents. They do it without realizing it. My siblings are all smart and by no means stupid but since I was what was deemed smarter I ended up being treated differently. I watched my parents teach my siblings how to do something whereas I didn’t always get taught. Something they deemed simply enough for me to figure out they didn’t bother. That resulted in me dying a whole bunch of whites red when I first started doing laundry. It was something simple that mother figured I would naturally know.

I don’t want that for my children. I make sure they each learn at their proper level and get the stimulation they need. Do I force them to do sports or anything else? No not in the least. We do have a rule though that you must finish what you start, so if they sign up they are in it until the end of the season or the task is complete. That is all though. If being that way means I am not parenting properly then so be it. I want my children to look back on their childhood and never have moments where they felt like they weren’t children. I have a few of those moments where it felt like I had to be an adult sooner than I needed to be.