There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb

by admin

I stood in a queue for an audition yesterday for over 5 hours. Apart from questioning my own sanity, I noticed and thought about how much parents can leave out their dreams in their children.

Now in an ideal world (maybe I’m wrong when I suggest this) but if I couldn’t play for Liverpool Football Club the next option for me would have been , in my father’s mind, accountancy. The fact that I didn’t take that path I know will not have bothered him too much and I believe, much like the thoughts of my mother, that I’m happy with what I am doing and that I challenge myself enough.

At this stage I am at a bit of a crossroads, in that I am wondering what I should be doing. However it was nothing compared to what I witnessed yesterday. Much like every man believes they have the prettiest wife, every parent thinks they have the most talented child.

The singers, the dancers, the performers, the future famous people as they may consider themselves to be where being cheered on by the their own public relations department; their parents.

I don’t discourage it, because I admire in a lot of ways. I think children should have dreams and I think a parent should be there encouraging that dream. It’s better then not being there or involved at all and hey if modern life has shown us anything it is that juggling everything is tough for any parent.

To me though, realism flies out the window when your parents are chasing a dream for you. It’s always the mantra that you want them to have what you never could, but at the same time pushing one direction just for the sake of it can be wrong.

It can expose a frailty in the parent rather then the child and can stir memories of chances lost and roads not taken.

Sunday, November 16th, 2008 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Your Questions.