The Parent Trap

Parents constantly make decisions for their children. Making choices that affect someone else's future can be a frightening and intimidating responsibility. One wonders how and whether the choice will effect the child in the long term. Though life experience and educated advisors are helpful guides, it remains burdonsome to resolve murky areas for another person. The right path is often uncertain.

Some decisions are easily made, like providing food, shelter, clothes, medical care and an education. That's easy. The debatable issues, where one decision could be as right or wrong as another, invariably result in frustrating debates. Consider, for example, the decision to put a child on medication for ADHD. Medications carry risks, both known and unknown, but they also hold the promise of permitting a child to function optimally. On the other hand, the drugs don't always make a difference. It is one thing to make a choice for oneself, but quite another to make a decision for another person.

No one has all the answers. Circular debates must eventually yield a decision, and whatever decision is reached has to be accepted as the definitively right answer. Like any good corporate or government leader, being a parent requires inner resolve. In truth, though, the most any parent can do is make a best guess and assume an appearance confidence.