Getting through the jungle.

I had this epiphany lately. I've been reading some blogs and pondering about teaching kids to function in the world. We as mothers are naturally inclined to protect our children and to prevent any pain or discomfort from happening to them. But little by little our kids have to learn how to function in the world on their own. Despite what issues a child may have he/she still has to learn to function on their own. This is really what I've been pondering. Even though your child may have been thrown a different set of issues to deal with doesn't mean you are to protect them more because of those issues. It is your job to show them how to deal with them and to function just as well as those who don't have issues. Just as a tiny example... a kid who has trouble sharing. If the mom always gives the kid what he wants to make him happy he'll eventually suffer more pain and discomfort later in life from his inability to share with others. It has just given me an image in my head of life being like someone having to make their own "path" through a jungle. If you make the path for your kid he will never know how to do it him/herself. If you teach your kid how to use the machete and clear the obstacles before him/herself you're giving them a priceless gift. I think we all too often forget our children are their very own people here to gain their own knowledge and experiences and have a whole set of problems to deal with that are not ours to handle.

I'm not sure how much sense this made to you but I had to get it down somewhere before it was gone.