Baldo by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos for November 10, 2016

gracious

He just does.

My sister is like that with her kids too. She has only ever worked 9-1 monday thru friday and yet from when they were 16 onwards her kids were expected to work 2 hours after school every day all day saturday and a half day sunday as well as keep up with their schoolwork and homework and their chores at home. It;s like their childhood ended as soon as they hit 16as after doing all that they were too exhausted to do anything like go out with friends. My mother and I live in the same town and we hardly ever see them as they’re always out which is sad. I think it’s especially wrong as they were expected to work like this when they are doing their Leaving cert which is the same as the A levels in england ot the High School Diploma in America. These years are tough enough as it is.

We often forget just how much many teenagers have on their plate and how hard they really work. The pressures of school, part-time employment, sports activities, family and social obligations, peers, college preparation, and the ever changing hormones are an awful lot for a young person to juggle – And I’m sure I left out a few things.

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Sometimes, parents don’t realize just how difficult it is for their kids. Many moms and dads forget how awkward and difficult their teen years were. In an effort to see that their kids be the best and achieve in life, they put enormous and often undue pressure on the child.

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Sometimes, like Baldo’s dad, a parent needs to stop, take time, recognize and acknowledge the simple day to day accomplishments of their children.

Many parents push their kids to do it all. It’s become the norm. Many times it’s used to bolster their university acceptance showing how much they’ve done and why they should be accepted there. Personally I feel it’s the parents living vicariously through their kids, “I couldn’t but you will”.