An excellent point. Having children DOES make one more humble, and more prone to realize that things are not as simple as they once seemed.
In a somewhat offshoot of what Michael was saying, before I had kids I was very negative about parents whose children misbehaved in public. I would say, as Michael would about our responses, that these parents should have brought their children up better, that they were responsible for what their children did, etc.
Having raised three children, I now look back on what I once was certain of and think "what bunk." This, I think, is the almost universal response of parents. They KNOW that children are not clay to be formed into whatever shapes we wish, but are real people from the outset with their own opinions, preferences, attitudes, personalities, philosophies of response to stimuli (curiosity, fear, flight, etc.). We can guide them WITHIN the range of their personalities, we can expose them to influences and ideas we hope htey will adopt, but that's about all parents can do.
And wondering whether Michael is a parent is a very good question! |
