I was reading Charlotte Mason’s “School Education,” (Vol. 3) this week and came across this little piece which gave me a jolt. It’s a warning about interfering too much in the lives of the children.
“The mere blessed fact of the parental relationship and of that authority which belongs to it, by right and by nature, acts upon the children as do sunshine and shower on seed in good soil.
“But the fussy parent, the anxious parent, the parent who explains overmuch, who commands overmuch, who interferes overmuch, even the parent who is with the child overmuch, does away with the dignity and simplicity of that relationship which, like all the best and most delicate things in life, suffer by being asserted or defended.”
It challenged me, because I agree completely with Charlotte on this, but on the other hand, there are times when I have thought that I am a better parent if I pay attention to small details. In fact, modern parenting pressures insist that we do pay attention to small details in order to show what good parents we are.
Paying attention to small details is really micro-managing, isn’t it? Oh, I do like the way Charlotte Mason calmly keeps a firm grip on balance and common sense!
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