Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Why some parents hate parenting

The Last Psychiatrist takes a stab at criticizing a New York Magazine article entitled Why Parents Hate Parenting. He captions this photo: "I was sure that color coordinating the baby and the bathroom would make me happier but it didn't... should I have gone with lavender?" Then, he writes this:

I have a surprising piece of advice for parents, which I hope will be taken in the spirit it is offered: your kid doesn't want to be around you that much. No one does. This isn't because you're a bad person but because you're an ordinary person. You are not such a unique, creative, intelligent or even interesting person that the kid benefits from constant exposure to you. When you have something to offer, maximize and concentrate that time, and then get the hell out of the way.

I don't know if helicopter parenting will turn the kid into a wimp as many claim, but I do know that it will make the kid hate you. The natural individuation that will occur in adolescence is going to be a lot more severe, get ready. Of course, by that time the parents will be too emotionally exhausted to keep on helicoptering, so you get the awesome combination of a lifelong history of overcontrol, with a sudden removal of nearly all of it, exactly at the time the kid discovers meth. Well played, New York Magazine parents, well played.

Read more here: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/07

/why_parents_hate_parenting.html#c028475

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Totally believe that article. Brutal but true.