Parenting

You're scared of your children. You're scared of stuffing them up, or of not stuffing them up enough. You agonise over every decision. Should I let her wear that slutty dress? Should I let him go to the party with those boys where I'm certain he'll smoke pot and impregnate some slut? Should I force her to learn the piano so she doesn't become the type of slut to be impregnated by stoned boys?

It's natural to want to protect your children. A mother hen keeps her chicks close. But sitting on your babies increases the risk of suffocation. I almost lost my eldest daughter that way. I was going through a phase where I modelled my parenting on Canada geese. That had to stop when child protection were called in after neighbours saw me encouraging her to fly. 

The point I'm making is that it's natural to want to protect your children - but you can't. Your parents couldn't protect you. Look at how you turned out. You have to let your babies spread their wings and fly (though not literally, which I learned through an eighteen month period of incarceration for child cruelty).

You believe your children's actions, thoughts, the very essence of their being is all about you. If your kid gets into university it means you've done good. If your kid dismembers elderly pensioners it means you've done bad. Truth time. You can do your best but in the end it's up to them. If they turn out a crack addict fellating goats for money - well, you win some you lose some. That's why it's best to have a few offspring. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Out of a brood of seven, sure you might get a couple of pure evil - a serial killer or an investment banker - but that means you're still in with a chance for an optometrist.