3 Parenting Missteps That Can Harm Your Children (Archived Pedcast)

Image Provided by Paul Smolen M.D. Huntington Gardens, California   Knowing your own blind spots is an important aspect of being an effective parent.  I have been watching my own family, as well as thousands of others for the past four decades, and I think I have identified some parenting missteps that might be helpful for you to recognize, as you try and give your children the best childhood possible. Take a few minutes and read or listen to this installment of Portable Practical Pediatrics to find out what I have noticed. Musical Intro The Three Doc Smo Observations of Families Observation #1: Parents and children believe what they want to believe. This is just human nature. For instance, it’s hard for most parents not to think that their children are uniquely and exceptionally talented because they want to believe this. Whether its sports, academics, or musical talent, it is exciting to watch your children grow in their abilities. Of course, all children are special, but super exceptional or world class talented? Probably not, compared to a larger stage of all children. This is hard for parents to accept because... they don't want to believe that their children are not superstars.  Conversely, children when very young, think that their parents know everything, possessing God like wisdom... until they become teens, and then most children think their parents know nothing. Obviously, these facts are not right and all of these thoughts are biased:  whether it be parents thinking that their children are the most talented child on earth, or a young child thinking that their parents know everything, or a teenager's refusal to believe that their parents have any wisdom at all-  all are distortions of reality, altered by preconceived beliefs. Observation #2: Everyone's view of the world is determined by their experiences. Very similar to principle #1 but a little different. Both these principles involve a distortion or reality but this one is based on our prior experiences instead of projected  fee