By now, I am sure you all have heard about the college admissions scandal being blasted across the news. Fifty some odd people, including two famous actresses, have been accused of handing out bribes to get their children into college. Well some say, including me, what else is new? This has been going forever. Ever wonder how the majority of children of famous people end up at really good schools? Coincidence? I think not. In any case, I am not writing today to bash wealthy celebrities. I am writing to talk about what the heck are we doing to our kids?
I am a mom of a 17 year old junior in high school. From the time he entered high school, heck even before that, there has been all sorts of talk about what he needs to do because it looks good on college applications. There is pressure for kids to be in honors/AP classes, play a sport every season, volunteer, join a club, get a job and the list goes on and on. The kids put the pressure on themselves, but as parents we seem to do a pretty good job of doing too. Heck, I am guilty of it. The first two years of his high school career was a lot of me telling him what do to. Not just guiding him, but tell him to do A, B & C. I was not letting him figure it out on his own. I was not letting him fall and make his own mistakes. I was doing him a disservice and driving us both crazy in the process! You can read more about what we struggled with here. https://lifeatmyownpace.com/lessons-in-motherhood/
It is no wonder these kids are being diagnosed with anxiety. It is no wonder these kids have such issues problem solving. As parents, we are there every step of the way holding their hand, not letting them fail. If we want to raise self sufficient, productive members of society we need to stop. We need to stop pushing them into doing things they don’t want to do and stop preventing them from failing. It is so much easier said than done. Believe me, I understand. However, in the long run, this is what is best for our kids. I am sure going to try my hardest, are you?
