Recent provocative articles about parents striving to help their children get a head start in life have been published by the newspapers. There was Amy Chua’s Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior which appeared on WSJ.com, and before that an article about parents queueing up to get onto the waitlist of a reputedly top-notch preschool. And even further back there was a report about parents who are willing to spend up to $20,000 per year for a premium pre-school education!
Why lump all 3 articles together? Because all 3 articles are focused on one thing – how to get your child/ren to be THE BEST. This striving to be the best, to spend all that you can – time and money – just to get your child to the top of the rat race can’t be healthy in the long run.
No wonder children are seen as a burden, a liability.
My question is : where is God in the picture? Is this what He has called us to do? To be?
The preoccupation with education seems to be an Asian thing. I, myself, have been drummed since young that I needed to do well in school. But thankfully my parents were not of the Amy Chua mould 🙂 But really academic excellence is not the end all and be all of life.
Yes, we want to be the best that we can be. And we should be, for the glory of God. Yes, I know that society demands paper qualifications before it allows you into prestigious industries like law and medicine. But surely that can’t be all that life amounts to?
The Bible asks, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26.
Are we selling our children’s and our souls for excellence?
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Well said, Serene. Your children are truly blessed to have you as their mom 🙂 Trust they will grow up to become a blessing to others too just like their mom 🙂
Penny – it’s a struggle even when we are homeschooling. Bottom line is : parenting is hard! 🙂
Imelda – thanks for your kind words.
I agree. For those of us who are not homeschooling, it is a constant challenge to remind ourselves of what we believe in and what we are standing upon (and therefore not compare with others) and to raise our children with the right balance of truth and grace.
ive learnt, from observing my school friends, that paper quailifications can only bring you this far. As compared to them, i am more educated. Their school grades were atrocious and Teachers didnt think much of them. However, today, they have more career success than me, some became well known chef, another GM of a international co etc. I also know of friends who were always in top classes but now earning just enough. SO yeah, this paper chase is not a guarantee of a ‘better’ life. For me & my house, we believe its all about God putting us at the right place, right time. Its all about God’s divine plan for us, His favour on us. Our human efforts can only bring us this far, But it’s the Lord who can bring us to a level we never imagine possible.
I totally agree with this post, funny since I wrote similar things down in a post sometime ago, so I think we go along the same lines of thinking! 🙂
I guess it is sometimes tougher in Singapore. Where the rat race is fast, and very results oriented, and parents sometimes feel that they need to send kids to the best school/kindergarten/enrichment whatever to help the kids along… perhaps its the kiasu mentality acting up as well. May we keep looking to God to remember how to raise our kids to love Him!