The issue of parenting is
both apropos and relevant for young parents.
There are how-to or self-help
books on parenting, maybe to a point that there may be too much information
about the subject. And many times, these different sources take divergent
analyses or opinions on the same subject(s), maybe to a point that can confuse
earnest parents.
But one thing we learn from
experience is that each child is uniquely different, thus how to properly
parent a child will depend largely on a parent's intimate and personal
knowledge and understanding of each child.
There is an almost inherent
bias for parents to assume that if they believe they were raised properly, what
worked for them will work for their children too. After all, many of us know
and believe that a child is composed of 50% of one spouse, and the other 50% of
the other spouse, so it would be easy to assume that at that default stage we
already know enough of our children to tailor the kind of parenting we believe
will work.
But nothing I believe is
farther from reality. Each child is still uniquely different from both parents
to a point that we cannot safely say that the child is like either one of the
parents, or maybe likened to other ancestors. That is just one facet of the
mystery and awesomeness of life.
Additionally, as parents we
tend to treat our children as fragile and easily traumatized individuals. Many
facts point to a somewhat accepted reality that children are typically
stronger, more malleable, and able to adapt to varying degrees of conditions
and situations than we think they can. There is more than enough knowledge to
show that children born and raised in very challenging situations have been
able to lift themselves with their own bootstraps to become functioning and
exemplary members of our society.
Does it make parenting more
difficult? I believe so, since we now collectively possess more knowledge than
the previous generations, the responsibilities become exponentially greater.
Add to that the fact that life itself has become more and more complicated for
the coming generations. Remember the cliché, with great powers come greater
responsibilities.
