The Parental Equivalent of ‘Letting them Bleed’
That priceless first moment of holding your newborn child is over sooner than any parent would like and then followed closely by a period of constantly being on your feet for years on end until that baby is a fully grown, independent individual.
Over the course of the years, you might hear phrases like ‘let them bleed’ and might be confused as to what they really mean. Let me break it down for you.
Literal and Figurative Implications
If you stay stuck on a literal interpretation, you might struggle to grasp the concept and the idea might seem a bit harsh. The idea is really only partially literal and partially metaphorical in the sense that it covers both aspects.
Letting them bleed is a term that encompasses probably the harshest reality you’ll ever have to come to terms with as a parent. That being, no matter how much you try to protect them or keep them safe, there will be some realities of life that will hit them and while you can be there for them to accommodate the process of healing, there is nothing much you can do.
This applies both figuratively as well as literally to a gazillion of everyday situations.
What You Can Do
They might get an open wound while learning to ride the bicycle for the first time, bandage their wounds but let them learn. Let them know that it is okay to be hurt and that the pain will eventually go away.
There is nothing more that you can do about it anyway. This is the pain they will have to endure, this is something they have to feel. There is no way you can feel their feelings for them.
The same is the case with infants. No matter how hard you try, there will be times when you cannot be there for them. There will be times they would have to wait and endure hunger before they can be fed, it has nothing to do with socioeconomic status.
They have to feel the cold air in winters and the sunburn on their skin in summers. They will be sick on some days and you can do nothing but feed them soup. And that is all you really need to do.
Your children will fall down and hurt themselves while playing one day, let them play, let them fall, just be there to bandage the wound when it happens.
Ensure Digital Security
In the same way, someday they will go online and be exposed to an array of potential digital dangers and cyber security threats.
However, this is something you can beware of and prevent. By using FamilyTime, you can monitor their online conversations, app usage statistics as well as limit screen time. You can not only set specific hours for online gaming and online study but can also set up task lists and reminders on your children’s devices to let them know they have homework due.
Parenting Real-Time
Being a parent isn’t a competition about who is better or who ‘seems to be doing better as a parent when compared to you. No, being a parent is really just about being there for your kids, making sure they are healthy and well protected.
If you want your kids to be happy, then be happy yourself. By modeling happiness and calm, you teach them to be calm and happy and at peace with themselves and you. Don’t stress it too much. Parenting is not really rocket science.
Parent-Child Bond
It is more of a connection where you take care of your children when they can’t take care of themselves out of love, expecting nothing in return.
So, it might come as a surprise when as a thank you, they grow up and take care of you when you are old and can’t look after yourselves.
Those little love-filled moments of joy are what parent-child relationships should ideally be about but we all know an ideal world does not exist. There will be days when you will fight and there will be days when you will love each other. Live for the latter kind of days.
