Advices to young parents

It is 05:30 here in Sydney and I awoke with a need to write some thoughts especially to my young friends who have become parents. What a privilege you have been given! Also what an important responsibility you have been handed! A new life has been made by you, your genes will pass on through the next generation, it is a way of immortality for you. I know nothing you have experienced in the past will have fully prepared you for this new experience or for the important responsibility you have accepted. The privilege does include responsibility. Yours is to begin forming a new part of the human race, one that will be a productive addition to our world and not just another parasite.


 You do this by providing security to that new life, make it feel safe and secure. Most of all make it feel loved and wanted. Teach your child what you know, the things you have learned from your experience and don't just repeat the methods used by your own parents even though those methods are the one example of parenthood that is most real to you. Your parents were flawed humans as we ALL are flawed humans.

 Seek to correct what you saw as flawed and use what was positive. You are not fulfilling this responsibility for just yourself, or your economic status, your religion, your skin color, or your country. You are doing it for the whole human race! If enough new parents fulfill this responsibility well our human race will finally meet its destiny of leaving the restrictive boundaries of our home planet Earth and dance among the stars.


In the process of your task there will be much joy and that joy will counter all the upset, difficulty, and weighty responsibility to keep safe and provide for both yourself and your family. Be the parent while this child is young, set the boundaries as a child needs to know there are limits and will continually push those boundaries to see what the limits are. While young you are their parent not their friend. 

Do this well and when they are adult they will be your friend, not just your child. Keep a sense of humor though all this as the child is a vulnerable new life and needs time to learn. Be patient! Slowly as they mature give them more freedom to make their own choices and as they do better at that give them more opportunity to choose. I wish you well in your important task, thank you for doing it well! 
Ed Martin