Oh my word. Does this person even have kids? While there might be the odd person out there who feels this way about their kids, this sounds more like what a selfish, angry, middle aged spinster who has realized they’ve missed their window to have kids THINKS a parent might feel.
I hate this cultural gestalt that having obligations to anyone or anything is by definition bad, and that lack of obligation is the goal. People with no obligations are people without connection, and they tend to be miserable.
Families include obligations going on many directions. And there is some truth to the fact that they aren’t necessarily “automatic”…It isn’t necessarily giving birth that “obligates” the child, but rather raising & loving them. A mom who dropped her child off and grandmas to be raised & has no contact for 20 years isn’t owed the acknowledgement of birthdays or etc (or being looked after in their old age), but the mother who adopts, loves and raises a child they did not give birth to is! And for children who are in a living relationship with their parents, those obligations (while at times maybe a bit annoying) are not some kind of soul & psyche crushing thing.
Ack. These are the kinds of people that folks are going to for counseling & help?!? Yes, get yourself to a good church & surround yourselves with people of faith who are trying their best. You’ll do better than listening to this dubious Dr.
She seems to think that all mothers are the worst kind of "Jewish mother" or "tiger mom" that exists. That leaves me wondering what kind of parents she had...
"She is an expert in family dynamics and personal development..." According to whom? Wow. I shudder to think of the number of parents who follow this advice.
Oh my word. Does this person even have kids? While there might be the odd person out there who feels this way about their kids, this sounds more like what a selfish, angry, middle aged spinster who has realized they’ve missed their window to have kids THINKS a parent might feel.
I hate this cultural gestalt that having obligations to anyone or anything is by definition bad, and that lack of obligation is the goal. People with no obligations are people without connection, and they tend to be miserable.
Families include obligations going on many directions. And there is some truth to the fact that they aren’t necessarily “automatic”…It isn’t necessarily giving birth that “obligates” the child, but rather raising & loving them. A mom who dropped her child off and grandmas to be raised & has no contact for 20 years isn’t owed the acknowledgement of birthdays or etc (or being looked after in their old age), but the mother who adopts, loves and raises a child they did not give birth to is! And for children who are in a living relationship with their parents, those obligations (while at times maybe a bit annoying) are not some kind of soul & psyche crushing thing.
Ack. These are the kinds of people that folks are going to for counseling & help?!? Yes, get yourself to a good church & surround yourselves with people of faith who are trying their best. You’ll do better than listening to this dubious Dr.
She seems to think that all mothers are the worst kind of "Jewish mother" or "tiger mom" that exists. That leaves me wondering what kind of parents she had...
"She is an expert in family dynamics and personal development..." According to whom? Wow. I shudder to think of the number of parents who follow this advice.
While we are on the subject of proper addresses for "experts", I am now to be known as "Dr. Marshall."
Have you written a review on the parenting book “Good Inside” yet?