Wings to fly

Children have always been dear to my heart. I am a firm believer in less parental control for children. We should not aim to realize our unfulfilled potential and dreams through our children. Each child is an individual and we should only be a facilitator who enables them to realize their potential.

The children should be given wings to fly.

Our job is to be sure that they have the skills necessary to succeed in the world and the self-confidence to take that giant leap out the door when their time comes.

The process of fledging starts early - long before they are ready to fly.

When they are very young, we should begin to teach them to be responsible and to contribute to the family.

Even pre-school children can be expected to put toys away and to help with household chores. This helps them to feel capable and instills in them a good work ethic. Responsibilities can increase as our children are able to handle more, but they should always be balanced with free time and opportunities for play, because children learn and grow from those as well. This shall also enable them to believe in themselves.

Confidence also comes from the ability to make decisions. In order to prepare our children for the outside world, we need to give them opportunities to make their own choices. We can start with the insignificant things, such as what to wear and how to fix their hair - then gradually move to the more important decisions with real consequences.

Let your children take off,

Give them responsibilities early, and increasing with time.
Help them develop values by your example and by setting definite limits.
Give them choices early and increasingly as they are able to handle them.
Give them permission to explore and make mistakes and experience the results of those choices - not as punishment, but as a way to learn what works and what doesn't.
Help them find their gifts - find what they love - so they will have passion for life and a sense of purpose.
When we do our job well - when we help our children develop strong wings - yes, they will fly away.But if the roots are strong enough, they will always fly back to us - not to stay, but to share with us the wonderful things they are discovering and creating in their own lives.Maybe to say "Thank you."Maybe just to get another good dose of the love that helped them to be who they are.

Then we get to see that we never really lose our children, as long as they know there is something worth coming back to. - adapted from www