Role Models

Posted by Miriam E. on

What is the cost of a child’s smile?
Would you be willing to put a price tag on your child’s happiness?

I recently read Daan van den Bergh‘s marvelous guest post over at Rohan7Things (Daan’s post can be found here, I encourage you to read it).
It moved me, deeply.
How precious is it, to see a father make a ‘fool of himself’ in this fast-paced, intolerable intolerant world, just to see his son smile?
How precious is it, to know someone doesn’t care about the frowns and spiteful words directed at them for their ‘inappropriate behavior’?

I once read an article about a little boy who loved wearing dresses. He constantly faced prejudice; endured the frowns on other parents’ faces, endured the comments of other children making fun of him. One day, the little boy’s father decided he had seen enough. He put on a skirt himself and took his little boy (dressed in a pretty purple skirt) for a walk in the city. Needless to say, they were quite the attraction. One of the city’s female residents stared so hard at them, she ran into a traffic light, head first. The little boy erupted in laughter and his dad smiled a satisfied, hidden smile.

This is what I call great parenting.

After their trip, the boy grew tremendously, as a person. He was allowed to develop a strong character, thanks to his father’s display of courage. Whenever another child tried to make fun of him for his clothing or painted nails, he just answered, “You just don’t dare doing something different because your dad doesn’t dare either.”
That’s how broad his shoulders became.

You say skirts and dresses are for females only?
Think again…

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A kid’s mind is a sponge – and we are role models for our youngsters, whether we are aware of it, or not.
Whatever we do or say makes an impression on them. They will adopt our prejudices, mirror our opinions. We have a great influence on their minds, while they are struggling to sculpt and form character.

What is the cost of a child’s smile?
Is your kid’s innocent happiness a price you are willing to pay, just to fit into Society?

Put on a skirt.
Behave inappropriately in public.
Ignore the frowns and malignant glances.

Witness your kid grow strong.

 
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photo credits: erowid.org, images.fanpop.com, justjared.com

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23 responses to “Role Models”

  2. Thank you, Miriam. For, one, extending my word and, two, for adding such a precious and beautiful story to my story. I did not know this father you mentioned existed, but he is my role model.

    The smile of a child is priceless, and I will never let him be poisoned by society’s etiquette of appropriate behavior.

    FUCK the word “inappropriate”. Nothing is inappropriate. That word suggests that judgment and prejudice is good. I say: NO!

    Reply

    • absolutely.
      thank you for a stunning post – my comment is still awaiting moderation 😉

      “politically correct playtime” – what a phrase, wow. you put a pin in everything that’s wrong with a child’s education right there.

      your post moved me deeply – so deeply, that i couldn’t help myself but had to extend on the thought. i hope many more people will discover your marvelous piece of writing.

      Reply

      • I know, Rohan didn’t authorize me to approve comments. So I’m waiting till whenever he has time to approve them. Hahaha.

        I know, it was slightly sarcastic, but it’s just SO terrible to see how many parents raise their children nowadays.

        Everyone seems to have forgotten that when a child is born, he comes first and YOU SACRIFICE, but today, and actually for the past 20 years, it has become the norm that children have to adjust to the parents and not the other way around.

        Mommy’s career is first, than mommy’s brings you to one of her friends, so she can sit there and talk about useless crap while you play with the friends’ child. Mommy never spends time with you, cause mommy is too busy being interested in the rest of the world and basically anything, except you.

        That’s why I ended my post with the statement that it’s no surprise that depression is so up and coming nowadays. Pretty much no one had a healthy childhood and we’re all neglected. And the cycle continues.

      • I couldn’t agree more.
        How often do you see people treat their children as if they were accessories? Parade them in front of others when they feel like it, neglect them when they are not in the mood… it’s horrible.
        I recently had the chance to spend an evening with a nine-year-old girl (while her parents sat and chatted with my friends, not giving their daughter one second glance the whole evening). We ended up spending the whole evening playing, drawing and talking.
        I have to admit I was quite shocked. The kid had no imagination… she couldn’t even “play right”! Kids at that age usually draw princesses, horses, etc. – guess what she drew for me: nipple piercings and wonderbras! You can imagine how shocked I was.
        Almost every other sentence she directed at me had sexual content – and she got really confused when I asked her why she said things like these…
        I could go on, but it certainly makes me angry, so I will stop now.
        It is horrible to see a kid’s future ruined because their parents don’t know or don’t care what to do with them. The little girl I mentioned has no friends – none – and her mother wonders why.

        And here we are… healthy childhoods, a myth.

      • Her mother says she wonders why, but she does. She’s just too selfish to admit it, cause then that would mean she had to make changes to her own life.

        The brother of my brother-in-law is the same, they have a boy who’s almost two. The boy is skinny, because they barely feed him, and only moves when his parents allow it. The boy is so held back in growing up, he’s 7 months older than my little nephew, but 2 kilo’s lighter.

        And then, to top it off, and act like they have no idea who caused all this, they laugh at him and call him “Our Biafra child” — and you know what the children in Biafra look like, right?

        I wasn’t there when they said that, but next time they tell a “joke” like that I will surely punch Mr. Succesful in the face.

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