You are probably more of a danger to yourself than anyone else. We tend to sabotage ourselves through lack of knowledge and lack of commitment.

If we did a better job of managing our anger, our finances, our health, etc., we would have fewer problems. We don’t like to think we’re the problem. Instead we tend to think other people are the main danger we need to watch out for.

The same goes for taking care of our children. We fear what governments might do, what schools might do, what doctors might do, etc. But what about us? In what ways are we as parents failing our kids?

You could home-school them, but maybe you would do a worse job than the schools would. You could choose not to vaccinate them, because you fear that governments and scientists are wrong, but maybe you’re the one who is wrong. You could freakout about the way someone spoke to your daughter, but what hurtful things have you said to her?

Deep down most parents probably wonder if they’re messing their kids up, but that thought tends to get suppressed or accompanied by excuses. Have the guts to hang on to those uncomfortable thoughts for awhile and figure out what you’ve been doing wrong. Then, do better.

P.S. I’ve been doing a free Yale course called Everyday Parenting: The ABCs Of Child Rearing. It’s been helpful.