The Danger of Pushy Parenting

A growing body of research points to the fact that our kids are living pressure-filled lives. As parents, we can pile on the pressure when we lay unrealistic performance and achievement expectations on our kids. While there’s nothing wrong with taking a healthy interest in our kids’ lives, it’s dangerous to live vicariously through them. When our own insecurities lead us to push them to become all we never were, or to accumulate all that we never had, we force them to become something they are not, nor were they ever intended to be. If you grew up in a situation like that yourself, you know firsthand about the incredible weight this approach puts on a child’s shoulders. Think about each of your kids and ask yourself this question: “Am I pushing my child to be or do something they were never meant to be or do because of my own desires or insecurities?”  Let’s point our kids in God’s direction, rather than our own.