“With great power comes great responsibility” from Uncle Ben to Parents.

 Parenting: The Power and Responsibility.

Superhero movies are all the rage nowadays. They dominate the media and social platforms. Whether you are a die hard fan or merely a casual observer, there is no escaping the presence and influence of the superhero trend. Among these popular characters is one you may have heard of, Spider-man, your friendly neighborhood friend. In an important and character building scene, Spider-man’s uncle tells him this famous quote, “With great power comes great responsibility”. As we get older we can see the truth of this principle highlight our lives. When we own a car, we have the power to go and travel anywhere we want! On the other hand we must do regular maintenance, car insurance, and safe driving. I argue that having children is the biggest responsibility there is. We have so much power as parents; however, power, power is a big word? What is power? Power sometimes has a bad connotation and is portrayed as dangerous in history, stories, and media. And it is true that without great care and responsibility, power can turn a leader into a tyrant, a friend into a bully, and a parent into an oppressor. I believe that parents have the beautiful potential to use their parental power to cultivate and nourish their children. In a church hymn, I have found a simple principle that I think can really help parents have a healthy relationship with their children and at the same time prepare them for the test we call life. This principle from a beloved hymnal is, “Lead me, guide me, walk beside me.” 

LEAD ME:

I believe in rules, roles, guidelines, and consequences. The totem pole is valid to a point I believe. Parents should learn how to be equally yoked together, like a good team of oxen, unitedly bearing the responsibilities of parenting together. I believe that a parents first and foremost responsibility to their children is, well obviously, being their parents. As surprising as it seems, it sometimes is not the case. Sometimes parents seek to be their children's “best-friends” and not their parents, the difference being that best friends are equals and that parents are the legally, emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually responsible for their children. As such I stand by the opinion that parents need to set rules and guidelines and that they need to hold their children accountable to them. This is a responsibility of a parent, the world is full of rules, laws, and guidelines; it is a parents role to prepare their children for it.

GUIDE ME :

A past leader of my church, Prophet Joseph Smith, once stated “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” In this simple and short phrase there is so much wisdom. Think about the work meetings you’ve attended, think about the instruction manuals you’ve read, or the online tutorials you’ve had to preview; all these examples are methods of teaching us “Correct principles” to better enable us for the task at hand. We as parents would benefit from learning this skill. While taking a small online quiz that identifies your parenting style a question came up, “Children need to learn what they may or may not do, but we don’t have to use punishment to teach.” the question being do you strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree? My rebuttal is why choose OR when we can choose AND, is there no “best of both worlds”? I believe that a good guide not only brings people to new landscapes and terrain, but that a good guide will also explain the why, what, when, and how of the situation. I believe parents need to check for understanding with their children. They can ask, “Do you know why you’re being punished?”, “Do you know what you did wrong?”, “How could you have better handled the situation?”, whatever the question may be, I know that understanding, knowledge, wisdom is true power and as a good parent we should give what we have to them, power.

WALK BESIDE ME

Remember that when you are a parent, you are still a human; despite the heaviness of the situation don’t forget that you love your child/ children. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”? I believe that being a parent is to be their protector, be their mama bear, be their Daddy’s girl, be someone they can trust and confide in. As a parent you have so much influence in their life. We are so blessed to be able to be a parent. 

I conclude that a parent has so many roles meshed up in one: a protector, a friend, a provider, a guide, a Mother, and a Father.