In some families, the kids have all the fun … they have netball, soccer, dancing, gym and flute lessons and the parents have … well … driving the kids to netball, soccer, dancing and so on.
The danger is that we lose ourselves in the relationship we build with our children. We stop being fully human and end up as shadows of our real selves.
This message ‘Parents are people too’ helps us combat some of the unhappiness traps especially the ‘perfect trap’ which tempts us into trying so hard to be the ‘good parent’ that we end up as money-trees or slaves in our children’s lives.
Is your family slipping into this trap of letting family life become all about the children and little about the parents?
The message for us as parents
How do we let this message sink a little deeper? Let’s firstly think about what this means in our own lives?
Parents are people too.
- Parents have things they like to do and people they like to spend time with.
- Parents get tired and hungry and bored like anyone else.
- Parents have their own lives to live – lives that began before the children came along and will continue even when the children have left home.
Ask yourself – have I allowed my children’s lives to take over and consume our whole family life? Do the children ever have opportunities to consider my needs and wants as a person?
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What to do next?
Return to The 10 Strong Love Messages overview
Read: Message 3: Respect others, respect yourself
