My Morning WalkNew day, uninterrupted thoughts

Do, think, feel…  As the father of 3 very wonderful children, I have to appreciate their growing independence.  I was reading some posts on  www.dadomatic.com, and found it interesting how many dads think just like I do:  Many of us don’t want our kids to grow up too fast.  We want them to enjoy the time they have as children because they only get to do it once.  As parents we are faced with a difficult dilemma:  How do we raise them within the boundaries of the household while encouraging them to explore and find their own way? 

Has there ever been a time that your child lashed out at you for “getting too involved”?  My oldest daughter is thirteen, so I can see this one coming.  What’s funny is that by the time she get to my age, the world will have bombarded her with its attitudes, opinions, fears and worries.  This will then influence her to be reactive as opposed to proactive, just like her dad.  How does this happen?  How does an independently-minded child become an overwhelmed adult?  Every day, advertisers, marketing professionals, and sales people spend millions to gain our attention in an attempt to make us focus on what is important to them.  Why do they need to tell US what’s important?  Where is our sense of responsibility to ourselves and our families?  When, better yet HOW, do we regain control of the child within us who never wanted to be told what to do?