by Nicole Mabry posted in Celebrities
Members of the African American Mothers and Mothers to Be community group are talking about Will Smith’s latest quote on his style of parenting. Will Smith told Haute Living:
"My style of parenting ...
by Nicole Mabry posted in Celebrities
Members of the African American Mothers and Mothers to Be community group are talking about Will Smith’s latest quote on his style of parenting. Will Smith told Haute Living:
"My style of parenting is very similar to that of my parents, minus the concept of ownership. I think that, specifically in African American households, the idea coming out of slavery, there's a concept of your children being property and that was a major part that Jada and I released with our kids. We respect our children the way we would respect any other person. Things like cleaning up their room. You would never tell a full-grown adult to clean their room, so we don't tell our kids to clean their rooms."
While I agree that it is important to treat children with respect, I disagree with other parts of his statement. Like reggiesmama, “I don’t really know anyone who considers their child property”. If they do, I would consider that a negative trait and not attribute it to any particular race.
I do consider my children to be my responsibility, not my property. They are my responsibility to raise. They are my responsibility to teach. They are my responsibility to guide. While they are still children, it is important for me to equip them with the tools they will need to be successful adults.
Sometimes, that will include telling them to clean their room. Of course, I wouldn’t tell a full-grown adult to clean his room. But my kids aren’t full-grown adults. They are still learning to care for their possessions, to organize a space and to make sure their surroundings are healthy and livable. Like CurvyDoc says, “You don't tell grown people to clean their room because it should have already been taught by their parents.” Happyrissa also points out an interesting twist – “So Will.....are you going to tell us who is cleaning their rooms? I have a hunch it's a full grown adult....”
I suspect that as my children grow, I will take a more Will Smithian approach. My littles are little 2 and 4-years-old, a full 10 years younger than the Smith children. As they grow, they will get more responsibility of their own and more opportunities to succeed or fail on their own. Maybe that’s what Smith was trying to say; but I still think you can respectfully tell your children to clean their rooms.
Is Will Smith right in his parenting philosophy? What are your thoughts?
Photo: prphotos.com
