The whole purpose of parenting is to raise another adult.  We teach our children how to use their inherent abilities so they will grow up to become responsible adults who are confident in their creative power.

As new arrivals on the planet, babies are required to entrust their power to grown-ups who can keep them safe.  Parents essentially hold this power in trust while fulfilling an obligation to provide young minds a secure environment in which to develop and learn how to use their own intuitive skills.

Some parents seem to have difficulty in relinquishing this power by refusing to accept that their children have grown up.  How many times as an adult have you spent time with older relatives who still treat you as if you were a child?  Depending on your current disposition, it can actually be quite comical (or irritating) to still be instructed on basic cognitive skills.  It is as if by some miracle, we have actually managed to survive this long without their constant intervention.

Durwood’s mother still reminds him to wear a hat when it’s cold outside.  I admire that he finds it amusing when she coaches him on particular aspects of his business as well, since it is an industry that he has had a career in for over the past twenty years.  Mother Bean is a good woman, but she always knows better than my husband.  I admit that when it comes to patience he is a much  bigger ‘man’ than me.

As a parent myself, I can relate to the occasional reluctance to ‘let go’ when it’s time.  A good witch respects the cycle of life, but that did not stop me from crying on the first day of kindergarten for all three of the small Beans.  When we moved James to college a few months ago, I cried even more.  He is over a thousand miles away from home now and I still have my moments when I miss him terribly.  I do know that he is exactly where he needs to be, so I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Every being on the planet has the innate power to direct their own lives.  I would like to think that each generation improves upon the process of holding this power in trust for children who need time and a loving environment to practice using it, even when it includes making mistakes in order to learn.  Our parents may have rightly emphasized the issue of keeping safety first, but I wonder if the task of always ‘knowing what’s best’ kept us from discovering it for ourselves.

Raising young minds makes us the keepers of a magical trust fund.  It is our job to know when our kids get the hang of knowing what is best for themselves.

Tags: child rearing, creative power, mother knows best, purpose of parenting