Approaching That Next Step

My son is currently 3 months old and is showing more and more character each day. Since he was born, family and friends said he looked just like me. I did not see the exact resemblance, but did view a great amount of facial features of mine he does have. At this point, appearance is not all that he has acquired from me. The way he yawns, sleeps, smiles, gets angry, etc., all seem to be qualities that I've had since as far back as I can remember. This makes me think about what features he may acquire from me in the future, the good and bad. This also makes me think about all of the lessons that my father tried to teach me when I was younger and still attempts to do so today. Was he trying to prevent me from being like him, or did he want me to be like him?

There is something that people often perceive about fathers with their children, and it is trying to get their child to do the things they were not able to do. I often thought whether or not I would be that type of father and that time is approaching for me to make those decisions. Some parents map out their child's life as if it were the way they wanted their life to have gone. The perception that this is the wrong thing for parents to do is not always correct. It is fine for parents to map out what their children will do as far as getting them involved in activities that they show interest in, but not everyone is going to be the next Michael Jordan, Barry Sanders or Wayne Gretzky. This also applies to forcing your child to get involved in programs when they're in high school that don't attend to their future career interests. Get your children involved in extra curricular activities that include more than just shooting a jump shot or running the 40 yard dash. It would be nice to see children trying their hardest to get that 4.0 in school and not at football practice sometime. This is definitely not to discriminate against parents who are sports nuts, because I rarely watch anything else but sports. The American parent just needs to understand balance when choosing what their children will do. Make your children well rounded and not just someone who will only be able to depend on one of their attributes. Stay alert on what your children and their friends are positively interested in, and attempt to find the best way possible to jump on that opportunity to find a program and/or activity for them to get involved in.