A good parent does not clear the path for their children instead they prepare their children for their journey!

by Shirley Marie Bradby

July 25, 2019

A good parent does not clear the path for their children instead they prepare their children for their journey!
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Everyone knows that the job of being a parent is the most difficult job in the world because there are no fixed rules to follow just common sense and dedication.

So many times too much parental love risks suffocating and being an impediment for the growth of their children in regards to their emotional and social formation. Not always does "doing everything for them" turn out to be the right thing.

There are times when a parent should step aside for the sake of their child and let the child go it alone, perhaps failing, but ready to get back up and try again on their own.

In fact, "snowplow parents", as they have been defined, are precisely those parents who make all the decisions and remove all obstacles for their children.

via The New York Times

Commons/Wikimedia

Commons/Wikimedia

From the "best" friendships for them to cultivate to which university to attend, from extra-curricular activities to clothing: choosing for one's children is not always positive, in fact, it is actually quite risky.

Nevertheless, it is fitting and advisable that parents indicate what they think is the best way, limiting themselves to giving suggestions and explanations without impositions.

It is necessary to step aside and let children take their first steps on their own and make their own choices, including taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions both success and failure.

Failing is important because from failure we get back up stronger, and above all, we learn and try to do better the next time.


In addition, all of this contributes to defining a child's character and personality. The success that they will experience in life will be the result of their choices, not ours.

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Caroline Hernandez/Unsplash

Caroline Hernandez/Unsplash

If as a parent you prevent your child from having fundamental and formative life experiences, you end up hindering their ability to put into practice all those skills that often a person does not know that they have until they are faced with a difficult situation!

Among other things, we risk creating in them an adverse psychological effect defined as a "self-fulfilling prophecy"! Specifically, the more we try to protect a child from a given negative event, the more the child will put into practice dynamics to make it come true.

Snowplow parents should limit themselves to making suggestions, but without imposing their way of thinking. More times than not, children are able to pleasantly surprise us if only we let them decide what is best for them.

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