Monday, March 15, 2010
Thankfully, I've been able to read more and more of Laura E. Berk's book Awakening Children's Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference (link below). I know I've said this before, but if you can pick up a copy of this book, I highly recommend it. I'm only in the second chapter, but I'm reading slowly and re-reading because the material is just so dense and well-written. I think this is a book I'll be coming back to for encouragement in our parenting lifestyle.
In the second chapter, Berk writes about the uniquely American strive for a level of independence (often unrealistic, in my opinion) in their children. She writes that most of the world has a form of interdependence that just makes more sense to me. There isn't this push for children to be self-sufficient within the first few months of life.
I've heard/read a long time ago, possibly in high school, that our 'head West' mentality as Americans has shaped many of our social nuances. From having a seemingly innate entrepreneurial spirit, to finding that American Dream life where we are in the country but close to urban convenience (otherwise known as the 'suburbs'), to letting our children 'cry it out' in a pretty sad attempt to instill independence in them.
But we don't have to be at the mercy of this unspoken, accepted view of, well, everything.
We have the choice to take a step back and ask ourselves, 'Do we (as an American culture) really know what's best for our children?'
Or more, 'Do I trust this gift of fatherhood in the hands of a culture that has more wrong with it than right?'
Please don't get me wrong: I'm very grateful and happy to be an American.
But at some point, we really need to get over ourselves as a culture and look to other countries/cultures to see what we are missing out on.
My point in all of this ranting (sorry!) was that this book is amazing. I'm really not sure how we went from that starting point to where we ended up...
Again, if you haven't had the opportunity to check it out, I recommend you give this book a shot and please let me know what you think!
In the second chapter, Berk writes about the uniquely American strive for a level of independence (often unrealistic, in my opinion) in their children. She writes that most of the world has a form of interdependence that just makes more sense to me. There isn't this push for children to be self-sufficient within the first few months of life.
I've heard/read a long time ago, possibly in high school, that our 'head West' mentality as Americans has shaped many of our social nuances. From having a seemingly innate entrepreneurial spirit, to finding that American Dream life where we are in the country but close to urban convenience (otherwise known as the 'suburbs'), to letting our children 'cry it out' in a pretty sad attempt to instill independence in them.
But we don't have to be at the mercy of this unspoken, accepted view of, well, everything.
We have the choice to take a step back and ask ourselves, 'Do we (as an American culture) really know what's best for our children?'
Or more, 'Do I trust this gift of fatherhood in the hands of a culture that has more wrong with it than right?'
Please don't get me wrong: I'm very grateful and happy to be an American.
But at some point, we really need to get over ourselves as a culture and look to other countries/cultures to see what we are missing out on.
My point in all of this ranting (sorry!) was that this book is amazing. I'm really not sure how we went from that starting point to where we ended up...
Again, if you haven't had the opportunity to check it out, I recommend you give this book a shot and please let me know what you think!
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