Thank you again!
I continue to receive overwhelming response to my recent article, How Parenting Is Like Dog Training. Most of it is very positive, and those who disagree with some of what I wrote are asking intelligent, thought-provoking questions.
I really appreciate the discourse and respectful debate which have stemmed from the article and the reader comments. Thank you all for your interest, and for caring enough to engage in deeper conversations.
As I stressed in my most recent piece, “No Pain No Gain”: Fact or Fiction?, if some comments or questions gets my brain simmering enough to write an entire article to follow-up, then I am all the more appreciative for the inspiration.
When that happens, it is not intended as a “clap back” at anyone’s comment, this is genuine interest and enjoyment I feel when people’s writing, comments, or questions get me thinking more deeply about something.
In reference to the example used in How Parenting Is Like Dog Training, some commenters (justifiably) wondered why we chose to die on that hill. It was a good question and one worth considering, so I did.
I am one who has definitely had difficulty picking my battles in the past. I think I’ve become better at it with maturity (such as it is), however it’s certainly useful to take a step back and engage in introspection, to ask myself whether something is worth fighting over.
I certainly wouldn’t support my son refusing to do anything that didn’t appeal to him. That would probably result in him rarely bathing or brushing his teeth, never eating vegetables, and never completing any schoolwork he deemed “boring”.
I’d end up with a stinky, uneducated tween with bad teeth and malnutrition. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
We didn’t choose to die on that hill
The example was relayed with the benefit of hindsight, and after processing all of the information I didn’t have at the time. On the fateful day in question, I didn’t know anything about what went down until afterward, when I received an email from my son’s school.
My son was clearly unable to force himself to comply that day because instead he chose to hide in the locker room. He’s only 10, I don’t think he’d even heard of “skipping” class before that day, so clearly it was distressing enough for him to risk getting in trouble.
As mentioned, my son participates extremely well in 99% of his PE classes, he actually loves it. He’s very active and enjoys sports. Generally speaking, we agree that attending gym class and participating fully is a reasonable requirement for him.
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