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Whose life is this anyway?

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One of our favorite lullaby albums, Miracle, has Celine Dion singing, “You’re the reason I was born.” My wife and I are devoted to our son, but we agree that he is not the only reason we were born.

Who is more important? The parent or the child? Who gives up their rights, if someone has to? The parent is older but the child is cuter. We have been taught in this generation to put our children first. We have been taught by our peers to put our children first. That’s where super-mommies come from, and why they burn out.

But in previous generations, children were to be seen and not heard. Children were not as important as adults. They were not given special rights. Child labor was acceptable as adult labor.

Neither generation was totally right, as usual. And I don’t know where to strike the balance either. My son needs to be protected from what he’s too young to bear. He isn’t less important than me. I would give my life for him. But is he more important than me?


Posted in Parenting Controversies on July 14th, 2007

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