Children shouldn’t take credit for their parents’ work

Jaco van der Merwe writes:

It is with amusement that I refer to the flower show (Blommeskou) held at Barberton Primary on October 9.

Please do not see this discussion as criticism on the event as I think this is a marvelous opportunity for the children to discover the inner artist , but herein lies my problem –  Is this an event for the children or is this a competition for the parents?

My little girl was so excited to participate in the event and we helped her get everything together, but that is where it stopped. She had to use her own creativity to get to the end result and I take my hat off for that. On the other hand, I reckon more than half of the items displayed was done by the parents.

Here I want to get to the point. The parent should be there as a Guide but there is a place where the child must do their own thing.

I will not help ruin my child’s future by doing her homework/tasks/speech/flowers  for her. Are we not then creating a generation that always expects/demand the help of the parent? Is it not our duty to stimulate their learning enthusiasm and getting them to express their own ideas?

Yes, we did help with the flowers, but only with ideas. It was rewarding to see the smile on my child’s face when I approved her suggestion of what to do next (and she then had to do it herself).

The bottom line is this – the day will come that my children will have to face the big world on their own. By then I know that, by not doing everything for them now,  they will have learn to think and help themselves in the demanding situations to come. Some parents however will have to look after their children for life.

To the Parents that got Gold for their displays, I give a big congratulations.

To the Children that did it on their own, I say AWESOOOOOOME.