Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Hardest job in the world


We prepare our children for their future careers from the day that they are born. We start them off with puzzles and simple memorization games. Later we read them books. As they grow we try to send them to the best schools. We focus on their grades and prepare them for college. Hopefully, by the time they enter college they are prepared and have an idea as to what career they want. Whatever profession they may choose, it will require a minimum of four years of intense studying to gather the knowledge needed. Usually, the more difficult the career, the more years of learning it will require.
With that being said, I think we can all agree that the most difficult job in the world is being a parent. The job never ends and the description is constantly changing. So why is it that we would assume that there is no schooling required? Why would a job so difficult, come “naturally”? I would suggest, that the only schooling we received for this difficult job, came from our own parents who themselves had no formal schooling regarding the subject. Would you walk into surgery and perform open heart surgery on someone, based on your years of watching Grey’s Anatomy? Are we raising our children based on years of what we have seen or experienced? What formal schooling have we received? We are responsible for molding our children into whom they become. They watch us and learn from us. I realize that none of us are perfect and we all have our own style of parenting, but if we all want to do the best we can do, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication. Buy some books, read magazines, take some courses, do whatever it takes. You have the hardest job in the world, the more you know, the easier it will be. If we take the time to prepare ourselves the same way we prepare our kids for college, we will have a solid foundation and the best chance at being the best parents we can be.