Are You a Responsible Parent?

Today I took Corrina to African Dance class. I like that the head instructor is a brilliant artist and Jungian analyst. She is one of the "Tribe" I've woven around Corrina to help educate her soul.

Afterward we came home to clean the kitchen. We took turns scrubbing and washing all the surfaces, and you know the drill...

She turns to me all full of attitude about why she has to do all these chores, cook lunch (eggs and beans), and blah, blah, blah. "But I don't WANNA do all this..."

Well, this set me off. I certainly don't wanna do it. But we're human beings, and we have to eat to live. Which means we have to cook. Which means we need food, money, income, etc... Which I pretty much take care of, so it's only fair that she help out in other ways.

I took the opportunity to explain how it would be irresponsible of me as her father to let her grow up playing video games instead of practicing life-skills. After all, we've invested tens-of-thousands of dollars in her education at Montessori. The first 3 years they do a LOT of table washing and cleaning up their work. There's a reason. It's important. And she can help, so she should. It's part of being on the team. Eating on a regular basis. Sleeping in a warm abode. Stuff like that.

From there we got into a discussion of children in historical contexts. I told her if she lived on a farm she'd be up before dawn milkin cows and swiping eggs from the hen house for breakfast. She'd be working HARD, and she'd be lucky to have time to play, let alone all these toys.

I try to reference other contexts so she can appreciate how good she's got it. Some day I'd like to take her to Haiti or Ghana so she sees the value of a grain of rice and a drop of clean water. This life is too precious to waste in a fantasy world fueled by media and video games. These are cool. I enjoy them too. But they don't blind me to the reality of our global situation.

Are you a responsible parent? What does this mean to you in the 21st Century?

Craig