As I've gotten older, I've noticed it is becoming more and more prevalent for parents to think that their kids are always in the right and must be protected from all the harms and ills of the world and all the people who are out to get them, even when the cause of the problem is their child. I have seen a kid run around the grocery store, knock something over and break it, the parent turn around and see the kid standing next to said broken item, kid then points at another person and blames them, and the parent believes them.
What on earth kind of world do we live in where a parent believes their child, over a dozen other people, just because their child said they didn't do it? I do not understand it at all.
Why don't kids have to prove that they are trust worthy anymore? Are we really that sensitive as a society that we are going to believe children over adults? That we have to protect the ever fragile psyche of children by never telling them that they are wrong?
Here is my question: what happened to teaching your kids to survive in the real world being the main goal of parenting? You know where you have responsibilities and where what you need to do isn't always what you want to do?
I'll tell you one thing, my parents never just blindly believed anything that came out of my mouth. You know why? Because they knew I didn't want to get in trouble, and I would lie in a heartbeat if it meant I thought I would get out of a spanking. Guess what, so will most any other kid you speak to. My parents didn't always take my side in arguments, in disagreements with teachers and other authority figures, or when my story of how something happened conflicted with some one else's story.
And I am eternally grateful that they didn't.
If my parents had taught me that I was always right, I would have no respect for authority. I wouldn't be able to realistically asses when I'm being illogical and just crazy. I would never be able to be open minded enough to consider the fact that I may be wrong. I wouldn't be able to reach a mutual resolution with any issues that arose between myself and others. I wouldn't be able to evaluate and modify my own beliefs when I'm confronted with information that conflicts with them.
In the real world, every one is wrong at some point, and that's okay because we are all only human. In the real world, you can't get angry and tell your boss he's wrong because you don't want to do whatever he told you to do, aka your job, with no consequences. You know what I usually call people who behave that way? Unemployed.
If my parents had raised me to think I could do no wrong, I wouldn't be able to be the independent semi-adult that I am today. I wouldn't be able to survive and to live in the real world.
So thank you, Momma and Daddy, for not letting me grow up to be a brat that has no clue what the real world is and for giving me the tools I need to succeed in this life. I love y'all.
