Sunday, January 23, 2011

Kudos to Linda Dobson

http://www.parentatthehelm.com/3758/why-homeschooling-mothers-are-superior/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ParentAtTheHelmBlog+%28PARENT+AT+THE+HELM+BLOG%29

The above link is an article by Linda Dobson (no relation to Dr. James Dobson) on Why Homeschooling Mothers are Superior. I have been following with interest the article by Amy Chua on why she believes Chinese mothers are superior. The article horrifies me, and I cannot imagine why berating, belittling and shaming children can be touted as successful parenting tools. A better question is, why is the parent taking credit for the "success" of the child ?

I understand the innate feeling of pride a parent feels when their child achieves a goal or is recognized by others as talented. My smallest blessing has chosen to pursue competitive gymnastics. Frankly, she is quite good at it and has been since she first stepped onto a mat at the age of 3. I enrolled all three children in a homeschool gymnastics class along with 3 of their friends, solely to provide fun exercise in the middle of winter. Kyleigh took to it right away and felt pure joy with each session. She now spends anywhere from 12-15 hours a week in the gym and countless more hours in the basement on her bar and/or beam. She LOVES gymnastics. The result of her hard work and dedication can be seen in the form of the many medals, ribbons and trophies she proudly displays all over the house. Am I proud of her? Of course! Probably sinfully so! Do I think her success is in any way a feather in my cap? Absolutely not. It's not me getting battered and bloody in the gym 4-5 days a week. I am not the one doing sit ups and rope climbing till my muscles scream. It isn't me doing cartwheels and back walk-overs on a 4" piece of wood 4' off the floor! Her success is her own.

Our oldest daughter won lots of ribbons in equestrian events, and our son is gifted at whatever sport he chooses. Our children are talented and passionate and delightful people. They know that they are loved and more importantly, that we trust them. They are free to explore their passions, with as little or as much dedication as they have at the time. They pick things up and put them down at will, and know that we support them without question.

Society does not define success in our home. We judge our own success by the way we treat each other, and the tenor of our home. Come visit, we hope you will be blessed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good post about the insanity of it all (which is why I wrote my post ). Thanks so much for sharing the link...and keep enjoying the journey!
All best,
Linda