by Beatrice Okorie

Created on: February 05, 2009   Last Updated: February 06, 2009

There is a time in everyone's life where something inside of you wants to reach new boundaries. It is an exciting time where there are many things to explore and learn from.

Children grow up in this type of environment where they want to explore and find their limitations.

Most parents do love their children. And most parents do want the best for their children. Children are their investment.

Like any investment, you want it to grow so that you can earn from its yield. You want to see if the choice was a good one.

How parents raise their children is mostly up to the parents with little involvement from others. There are laws that guide you so you can make wise decisions about parenting.

Parenting is a very difficult task. In this country we are surrounded by multiple cultures. These various cultures are also influencing the upbringing of the child.

When the child attends school he will be met by teachers and peers that will probably have cultural differences.

The child will learn a different language that will influence his or her decisions.

In this country, when you reach eighteen you will be consider an adult. In some cultures adulthood begins much earlier. A child basically is making decisions for his or her life. I guess we do tend to baby our children a little more. But there is good reason behind that.

Because we are dealing with various ideas and various people that we may not understand, we take precaution. We want our children to take precaution too. Sometimes we raise our children out of fear for ourselves.

We love our children so much that we do not want anything bad to happen to them. We overprotect. We sometimes refuse to let them take that next step in their development.

We want to be there all the time to guide them, to hurt for them, to be happy for them, to be that shield that will stop any life's disappointments. Yes sir, we are there ready and willing to die for them if it comes to that.

Just let go. Respect the fact that children our separate individuals. Yes, we gave them life, but that does not mean we should control their life.

It reminds me of stories on the news where a dog will jump in the water, and the owner is afraid the dog does not know how to swim. The owner jumps in after the dog. The owner drowns and the dog comes out of the water just fine.

Letting go does not mean you care less about your children, it means you have done your job and you will be there if your child needs to ask a question.

Some parents will go to the extent in paying for a child's college. I think a child should learn the value of money at an early age. If they want anything in life, it has to be earned.

I have talked to several parents that do not want their children to grow up because they will be lonely if the child leaves from home.

I will say this to all parents, if you raise your children the right way, they will never forget you. That is when you know your investment has paid off.

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