Greatness. Success. We all aspire to it. And this aspiration is very easily reflected to our children.
But is there a time and place for “good enough”? I was raised with a dad that was fine with “good enough” and a mom who wasn’t. To my mom, it was a cop out. To my dad, it was a job done.
Those are the words that have been going through my head lately as I evaluate our children and extra curricular activities.
Don’t we all want our children to be great at everything? And if we are honest, we all feel the pressure for our kids to be great, right?
But at what cost? Personally, I know the cost, and it's a busy life juggling too much. It's a family that doesn’t eat dinner together every evening. It's surface deep relationships with those you love. And the list goes on.
But don’t we get sucked into it so quickly and slyly? Sign your kids up for soccer nowadays and you find that it’s not just offered for one season, but two. And next they will be invited to do winter training. And that’s just one sport, just one child. Do the multiplication—four kids, multiple interests. When, as parents, do we make the tough call for our kids and say, “Enough is enough.”
What areas can we say “good enough” instead of aspiring to greatness? Is it all right to play a sport without signing up for club or travel teams? Is it okay for our kids to want to play three sports without specializing in one? How do you set boundaries for your family?
I am looking at my almost 14-year-old knowing that in four and a half very short years she will be potentially on her own. Time is limited, both to spend with her but also to teach her. What are we really teaching our kids about greatness? Is “good enough” good enough for your family?
Written by: Stephanie Teslaa works in HR for West Michigan Woman magazine's publishing company, Serendipity Media. She excels at using both the right and left sides of her brain, and that’s exactly what makes her so special. Stephanie calls Hudsonville home and is a lover of numbers and also a talented photographer.
