The Push-Pull of Parenting

Yesterday, some 5-6 parents had the pleasure of eating lunch with our children and learning both about principles of design (font size on posters truly matters), and about the gold rush.  We had an interesting conversation about how involved we should be in their lives & their educations; how do we respect their increasing need for privacy and separation and their ongoing need for connection and parenting.

3 articles for mulling:

• Michelle Borba on why parents need to stay connected to kids and resist "K-Goy : Kids Getting Older Younger" 
• The Blessing of  a B-  -- there is a parenting discussion group guide to download, which could provide some interesting prompts/ discussion points for a future conversation among parents
• The Free-Range Kids blog

We all want to raise healthy, happy, responsible, morally developed kids. We all want to stay connected to our kids w/out being "helicopter parents."  We all want our kids to develop the skills they need to negotiate the world on their own, and we want to provide new opportunities for freedom in developmentally appropriate ways.  How that all translates to action is a lot messier and different among us.

Parenting is hard, and overly judged (see The Mommy Myth for an excellent analysis of why), but I'm grateful to be a part of a community that supports many different ways of being "good parents" and I always appreciate the chance to reflect on what's making sense and what might need to be reconsidered in my own mothering of always-changing children.