Parenting, the glove for which good intentions/ no experience slips it's hand

This is in response to a blog I had just read earlier today about a conversation a parent said to their child. Here's the link to the actual blog but I'll sum it up for you:

Sad Parents

Mom says to her kid "If I were you I wouldn't even try it, you wouldn't be very good at it."
Within minutes the dad says "Yeah you wouldn't be very good at that."
The blogger thinks thats a bad thing.

Here's my response:

I'm not a parent but I know lots of them, I watch people parent their kids and sometimes I feel the same way Tom is feeling. Give the kids a break! It's paramount that they know that anything is possible, let them do crazy things, it's the people who think they are crazy enough to change the world that end up changing it (Jobs 2011RIP). However, it's just as important to let them fail and learn that lesson on their own. I know you don't want your kid to be sad but the key thing that isn't taught enough is it's even worse if they don't try.

Now another thing in teaching this lesson are the parents actions, or more so their inaction,  in life. We want to tell our kids they can do anything, yet most of us are stuck in jobs we don't like, complain about crap and generally show them that its ok to not try. This typical behaviour is showing our kids the exact lesson we want them to avoid.

If you want to tell your kid he can do anything, the best thing you can do for him/her is show them that. They learn more from watching you than any words that come out of your mouth. If they see you following your dreams and see your determination then there is a higher likelihood of them learning that lesson. Telling isn't selling, especially to kids who are more apt to copy what they see rather then what you say.

It's like lighting up a smoke and telling your kid it's bad for them and that they shouldn't do it. Do you think your kid is going to understand the addictive nature of nicotine? Or that they cause cancer? No. He's going to see you light this thing up (with fire and sparks! kids love that), take a drag and watch how good it makes you feel.

My point is, the best thing you can do for your child is be the best person you can be. This means following your dreams, failing at them, getting up, trying again or move on to another dream. Oh, I almost forgot, heaven forbid he/she sees you actually succeeding at them.

Signed The nonparent