Parents endure a lot of pressure to measure up. Is it all too much? I’ve wondered that in the past. So I developed a humorous list of seven keys to tell if you’re pushing your kids too hard.
There’s plenty of pressure when it comes to being the perfect parent. Kids have to be involved in multiple sports, or they’re missing out, right? What about the science fair? And then you must be sure every minute is filled with meaningful activities, right? How do you know when you’ve pushed your child too far?
- In kindergarten, your child has participated in enough sports to earn his letter jacket.
- When you watch a movie together, your child whines, “You won’t make me write a review about this, will you?
- Your Twitter followers complain they haven’t received a recent update about your soccer mom exploits.
- You look into getting your twelve-year-old a special license so she can drive herself to softball practice.
- Your kids refer to the playground as a basic training obstacle course.
- The family sits down for dinner and your child asks why everyone is eating at their study desk.
- Your child’s science fair project attracts the attention of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Under Pressure
There is a lot of pressure to measure up. There is even more pressure to make sure your child isn’t missing out on something. Parents, relax a little! You and the kids need some downtime. When we fill our children’s lives with activities, they may begin to think they can never measure up to expectations.
Kids need downtime in order to be kids. They’ll have to compete as adults soon enough. While my list of seven keys to tell if you’re pushing your kids too hard may be tongue in cheek, I know the pressure can be daunting for the parents as well as the kids. It’s okay, parents! Let them have a little of their childhood back! It will give you a chance to exhale too.
Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on June 14, 2011. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.
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