Strategic Parenting is something I’ve heard on more than one occasion. Almost as a buzzword, but I don’t think it’s a new concept, just a new term.
November 5th, 2014 is a day I will never forget. At 9 AM that morning my wife, son, and I stood in a courtroom. And shortly after 9 AM, the judge officially declared the adoption of my son final.
Adoption is not something I ever thought I would be a part of ten years ago. Not because I didn’t want too, I just didn’t think it would ever come up. And yet like so many other things I didn’t think I would ever experience, here we are. It took us nearly two years to get everything signed, sealed, and delivered for this to be complete. And now it is.
This also brings up an interesting point. My son is going to be six in the next week or so and while I’ve thought about how I want to teach and discipline him, it’s mostly been reactive thus far. I’m willing to admit this to you because I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.
Strategic Parenting
But I think that parenting of the future started yesterday, and I think it needs to be more strategic. Let’s call it strategic parenting…It requires more long-term thinking and planning in order to groom our children for what they’re supposed to be, not just what we think they should be. Because, after all, it’s not our lives were grooming them for.
You can want your child to be a doctor or lawyer all their lives, but if that isn’t what they want, or they aren’t wired for it, all your going to do is push them away.
Being a Strategic Parent as an Old Soul
When it comes to being an Old Soul, one of the key traits is perspective. This absolutely has to be true as a parent. Now, don’t take this as me throwing stones, I’m not. This article is for me too, because the video I’m sharing with you opened my eyes this morning. It made me realize that I’m doing my son a disservice by not thinking about the opportunities his life may give him.
What Strategic Parenting is not…
It’s not your job as a parent to simply pay for whatever first car your child wants, or the college your child dreams attending. You don’t need to blindly put your kids in every single sport the minute they are old enough, what this does is tell the child he/she runs your life. And this is bad news for your marriage. But that’s another discussion.
The above things can, and should, be part of the equation, but there has to be the aspect of challenging them beyond the status quo. They don’t have to make an “A” in Algebra just because Betty Sue made an A in Algebra. Maybe your kid will be terrible at math, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad learner, it just might mean he doesn’t fit the mold designed to create algebra teachers…
I am showing you this video in the attempt to tie this article to the point of strategic parenting.
Strategic parenting is not something I came up with, in fact, when I Googled “strategic parenting” here is the website that came up, StrategicParenting.com
Strategic parenting children as entrepreneurs
In this video, Cameron Herold prods what the current mold is. It’s a little bit long (about 18 minutes), but I think you will find it well worth your time.
Photo credit: Flickr/Simon Rowe
This post originally appeared on The Old Soul Blog.
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