After years of trials and tribulations, disappointment, and heartbreak, you finally found the person of your dreams. You decided to get married, BOUGHT THE PERFECT CONDO, and had a few kids. So, now what?
Well, now comes the most difficult but also the most important and most enjoyable part of life. And that is having your own family and raising your children.
For many of us, this is something we look forward to. Still, that doesn’t mean we are not afraid or panic at the notion of having our kids grow up to be anything less than the smartest, cutest, and most successful people in the world. It doesn’t mean we often find ourselves lost and in need of the support and guidance of others.
But while there is no perfect way to raise your little boy or girl, there are a few things you should consider. These are issues to keep in mind that will help you make the best possible decisions regarding your children.
Let us look at some of the most important ones in greater detail.
Traditional versus Alternative Schooling
In all likelihood, you and your siblings went to either a public or a private school. The same is probably true with your parents, grandparents, and the generations before that. After all, this is the traditional way of acquiring an education, one that has been followed for hundreds of years.
Yet, in the 21st century, things are a bit different. Along with conventional approaches to learning, there are now plenty of other options for parents to choose from. Some of the most common ones include boarding schools, single-gender institutions, preparatory academies, and HOMESCHOOLING. Furthermore, inside each of them, we can find different methods such as the Montessori method, project-based acquisition of knowledge, student-focused learning, and many others.As with most things, the key is not what you decide to do. Rather, it’s about doing the necessary research, looking at your finances, and understanding the type of education that is most suitable to your child’s personality and needs.
A Grandparent’s Role
There is a great sense of respect for the elders in East Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China. Instilled since childhood, people look at those older than them as sources of experience and wisdom. As such, their opinions and advice on a wide variety of things are carefully considered and oftentimes followed. Naturally, this includes the raising of kids.
If you ask 100 different grandparents whether they love their grandchildren, at least 99 of them will say yes. Some even care for them more than their own offspring. Nevertheless, this doesn’t guarantee that what they say is always right or relevant to a particular situation. It is especially true when there is a generational gap spanning a few decades.
How much or how little you allow your parents to influence your decisions regarding your kids is up to you. There are no right or wrong answers to this. However, if you want to maintain the best possible relationship with your parents and in-laws, it might serve you well to SET BOUNDARIESas to their role in raising your children.
The Freedom to Choose
In the United States movie industry, when a motion picture is given an R-rating, it might contain scenes of graphic violence, drug abuse, nudity, and offensive language. As a result, children under the age of 17 are not allowed to enter the cinema unless there is an adult with them.
Some parents think THIS IS OK. As long as they are there with their kids, they can explain what is happening in the film and make them understand that the silver screen and real life are very different.
Others disagree. For them, a boy under 17 should under no circumstances watch something marketed to adults, regardless of who he is with.
Once again, as a parent, the final decision is yours to make. Similarly, it is you who determines how much access your kids have to social media, at what age they can start dating, the level of restrictions to place on Netflix, and when they should COME BACK HOME.
If you listen and observe your children carefully and with an open mind, you will soon realize what they can handle and what they should avoid.
As we have seen, there are three important considerations all parents should make regarding their children. The first is the type of school to enroll them in. The second is how much influence grandparents should have in child-raising. Finally, it is about decided what your kids can and cannot do.
Parents are faced with these and many other choices every day. As difficult as they may seem, with love, empathy, and understanding, everything has a solution, and no problem is too big to fix.