Daisies & stars & smirks

Sackbut pointed out this cloying image:

May be an image of one or more people and text that says 'What if parenting became less about telling our children who they should be and more about asking them again and again forever who they already are? Then, when they tell us, we would celebrate instead of concede. It's not: love you no matter which of my expectations you meet or don't meet. It's: My only expectation is that you become yourself. The more leeply I know you, the more beautiful you become to me. -GLENNON DOYLE @WILDPEACEFORPARENTS'

Naaaaaaaaah.

That’s just the old self-esteem movement updated for even more solipsistic times.

No, parents shouldn’t treat their children like gods. No, parents shouldn’t be constantly wooing their children like lovers. No, parents shouldn’t be training their children to think they’re miraculous and supernatural. Unconditional love, yes; an infinite stream of flattery, no.

And this “become yourself” shit needs to die. As I keep saying to the point of monotony, the cult of the self needs to die. Encourage children to have a spine, think critically, resist peer pressure when necessary, all that, but obsess over a special unique magical Self, no.

6 Responses to “Daisies & stars & smirks”