When a parent says, “That’s a waste of time. My money is not paying for that. You’ll go to a regular college and that’s good enough.” Are they really supporting children’s dreams? Here’s an example.
My main complaint with people talking on their cell phones in common areas such as supermarkets, coffee shops and even at work is that many times you have no choice but to become a part of their personal, and often, vocal conversations.
Like the other day when I was forced to listen to a mother deflating her child’s self-esteem over the phone. Talk about feeling uncomfortable. I mean seriously, wouldn’t you rather have that conversation in the privacy of your car, or here’s a thought, at home face to face?
Surprised by what I was hearing, and a little nosy, I couldn’t help but continue listening to what was going on – not that I really had a choice. But it truly discourages me when parents don’t nurture the talents their children possess – instead forcing them down a path they aren’t really interested in going down.
Basically her teenage son or daughter wanted to enroll in a theater program after high school and she wouldn’t hear of it. Her response was, “That’s a waste of time. My money is not paying for that. You’ll go to a regular college and that’s good enough.”
It led me to think how many times do we allow the opinions and wishes of others, especially our parents, to overrule our goals and ultimately our decisions, whether it be our choice of career or the people we choose to love?
Our parents give us life and provide us with the knowledge we need in order to navigate through this crazy world on our own. But they’re also supposed to be supporting children’s dreams – allowing them to flourish not settle.
Joyce Maynard once said, “It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.”
