| patali |
Posted
on 21-Nov-03 10:47 AM
BEING A PARENT...
While taking a walk on a hot summer night with Niben, my husband and nirja, my 17-month-old daughter, the three of us stopped by the public Library so that I could 'not spend so much money' on books. As we headed up to the front desk to check out a few books, there was a flier which caught my eye.
"Mothers...Fathers...Caregivers... You are your child's first and best teacher.
You can teach your child to read long before he begins school or even preschool... and you should
So far, so good, even though it seemed a little too enthusiastic.
Learn about a proven method of reading instruction that will start your child on a lifelong love of learning... and make you the parent or caregiver you were meant to be.
If I had what Spiderman calls his 'Spidey-Sense,' it would have been definitely tingling right there but I pressed ahead.
Do you want your chlid to earn good grades and test scores and avoid remedial programs?
And that's where I put down the paper, disgusted. One of the easiest ways to get new parents to go along with anything is bring their fears into the equation. The fear that if they don't purchase that one development toy for their child within the first few months of life, then the next 70 or so years will be a waste.
Stores like The Right Start tap into that fear and market it effectively. Each item there screams of fear whether it is a piece of cloth which you can put on the shopping carts at the grocery store so germs won't spread or it's their latest video which will increase your child's understanding.
Why is this fear so powerful in new parents? I can only imagine it because new parents have no idea what they are doing at the beginning. No matter how many classes you take or books you read, there is always that nagging self-doubt that you won't know how to raise your child. Luckily though, the older your child gets the more you can just look in their face, smile, turn the stroller around and walk out the door of the Library with books in your hand and no nagging fears in your head.
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