Quote of the Week

Quote of the week.

This week’s quote is “The most important thing you can spend on your children is your time.”

Too often parents face the balancing act of trying to give their children enough of what they need, but at the same time making sure that they are not giving their children too much and enabling them. Questions arise like “Should I buy them a car?”, “How long should I support them?”, “At what point do I force them out of the house, and is that even the right thing to do?”, or “Does tough love work?”. These are normal questions that everyone must go through as they raise a child. I don’t have the answer for these questions, but I want to you give you something to think about: namely,
this week’s quote, “The most important thing you can spend on your children is your time.”

If you are faced with a question like one of the above, remember that time is your most valuable asset. You cannot buy more time, so therefore it is invaluable. You must first believe that your children are innately good and have been raised with a strong moral compass from good parents. You made mistakes, so have I, so have we all. I’m sure you remember a certain moment in the past where you feel you really messed up, and perhaps years later it still bothers you or comes up. You have to let that go, and, ultimately, forgive yourself. Release yourself from a dark bond to a memory that is holding you back. Forgive yourself and let it go.

Remember your children are good people, but they just need guidance. No one was born strong- we were all born weak. No one was born successful- we were molded that way. It takes many people (sometimes even a village) to raise a child. I once had a friend tell me “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” Your children do not have experience yet, but you do! That it was you must give them and teach them. It’s not easy to do that. Personally, I feel that you’ll never be as smart as you were when you were 18. It’s true. When you are 18 that is the smartest you will ever be, for each year after you realize you know less and less about the world, its subtitles, and complexities.

Mark Twain once said, “When I was 19 I thought my parents were the dumbest people on Earth. But when I turned 24 I was surprised to see how much they had learned in those short few years.”
Spend your time with your children; It’s the most expensive gift you can give them.

Love deep, Eat well, and stay Excited about your life,

Thinking Matters