Wednesday, 15 June 2011
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The Power of Parents
I was watching the movie "Temple Grandin" today and was so moved. For those of you who have not seen the movie, Temple Grandin is a real life woman with autism who did amazing things. She single-handedly created a more humane and dignified way to slaughter cattle by engineering genius track systems for the cattle to travel through.She was also very social and has helped autistic people everywhere by speaking around the country. She has gone to college and received her BA in Psychology, MS and PhD in Animal Science. Before her, all experts on autism believed that it was impossible for autistic people to live a relatively normal life, let alone go to college. (Here's a link to see her many awards: http://www.grandin.com/professional.resume.html )
At the end of the movie, Temple contributes her success to her mother. Her mother respected and loved her. She helped her to learn and taught her how to socialize. She pushed Temple to be independent and strong. I couldn't help but crying at that part. It was beautiful to see how her mother's love and dedication could change not only her daughter's future but also the future of millions of other children just like Temple.
It got me thinking about how powerful the position of a parent is. One mother can change so many people by how she treats her child(ren). This applies to fathers too. The course of a child's life can take so many routes. I hope that my children receive the strength, encouragement, love and respect from me that it takes to become whatever they want, regardless of the obstacles that are in their way.
I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln
[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. ~Emily Dickinson
Do you momaroo's know/have any inspirational mothers/fathers that you'd like to mention?
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- From: Joobie82@xanga
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Comments (4)
Can't agree more with how important parents are in a child's life. This is why I think it's so important that one parent stay at home with children if at all possible.
I can't think of any inspirational parents, but I will stress this: Parents should invest in their children, not just bring them up because its an obligation. They should pro-actively do things that will help their child succeed in their goals and what not. Their goals, not yours, don't live through them, only guide them. If you want children, you should bare responsibility for them. To go with an extreme example, if they grow up to be criminals, how did you allow it to happen? Choice is an illusion, we are a product of our nature and foremost our nurturing. Some people seem to think that their children can magically become successful by themselves. Abracadabra, indeed. I've known people with genius IQs who have failed in life, then I look how poorly they were brought up. Coincidence? I think not. Behaviour problems like autism and ADHD etc? Clearly no excuse. You just have to work a little harder. Temple Grandin is a success story, and there are plenty of others out there. Bringing up children to be successful when you're poor and have little government help could cause some issues, but if you have a will, you have a way. Its about culture. Knowledge is power. Pass on as much knowledge as you can.
Otherwise, don't have children =).
My dad taught me to work hard & support your family no matter what. Even when he was dealing with his own depression (& drug use that no one ever knew about but hes not on now.) he was still working everyday and paying all our bills & making sure we had food, & making sure I had anything adn everything I could ever want. My dad inspired me because he was going through so much that no one could ever understand but he hid it and toook care of us the best way possible. Same with my mom, she was way more lazy and everyone knew about her depression, but she still did things with me & my brother & tried her best. Kids never realize that hey there parents have feelings too and could be going through way more things than you. Especially teenagers, they never realize that. But now that I'm a parent & I understand how depressed I get and have to put a smile on my face when I dont want too, but I also dont want my kids to know Im upset. But now I know what they were going through, and how they still just kept going because of us and that inspires me. They might not have done something life changing but they sure made my life great. I know they love me & would do anything for me & I could always ask them for help & I hope once my kids get older they think that about me too.
@Spectrophile@xanga - I agree! Just because others are looking at you to fail, I really believe if you put forth the effort, amazing things can happen. Don't give up! I also agree that some people should not have children, especially the ones who don't care. About anything.
I think parents can most definitely influence how children turn out. Who else will the kids learn from? If a parent wants well behaved children, that's how they will have to teach them. Children who are autistic, or have other conditions, can do well in life, as long as their parents are willing to go the extra mile to teach them. It might include learning new unorthodox methods that take up more time, but I think it'll be worth the extra time and effort in the end.