3 ms·

I am in deep agreement with the thrust of your argument, particularly parents job in relation to "the tyranny of their own desires". However, I can't agree wit

I am in deep agreement with the thrust of your argument, particularly parents job in relation to "the tyranny of their own desires". However, I can't agree with "Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to realize that the way your kids turn out is largely due to how effectively you and your partner parent." If you mean you as a parent will have an enormous impact on your child's life-arc, I certainly agree. But who a child is is often not nearly as malleable as parents, and especially non-parents think. Parenting matters enormously, but I can't agree how a child turns out is "largely" due to parenting.

gjenkin 14y ago
Sure. If you plant an acorn in crappy soil and fail to fertilize and nurture it, does it still turn into an oak tree (if it turns into anything at all)? Of course. But does it turn out as well as it would have if it got off to the right start and/or was cared for appropriately? Probably not. How the oak tree turned out is largely dependent on the environment it was raised in, the care and attention given to it, no? Humans have more ability to control or change their conditions than oak trees but the principle still applies reasonably well. At the very least, taking on this responsibility as a parent minimizes the chances that one will be absent or non-attentive.