You haven't spent much time around children/parents, have you? It's not that strange or uncommon a thing to hear them say, and having spend enough time working with kids (and even teens), I can see where they're coming from. A person is a part of this world. If you birth and raise them, you will have an indelible influence on who they are. You have left your mark on one tiny portion of this world, but you've left your mark on them writ large.
My own mother, among her many life accomplishments, is directly responsible for this and successfully argued a case that changed our state's insurance law. Yet to hear her tell it, I'm the most important thing she's ever done. (That's really difficult and mindblowing for me to hear, fyi
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A kid's behavior is more largely influenced by its peers than its parents. That makes me somewhat cynical about a parent leaving a lasting influence on the next generation in the same way that a teacher can. A teacher at least has the statistics in their favor: out of all the kids that pass through, one out of twenty will probably be influenced, and over the years that's a lot of kids. A parent is making a crapshoot with just a couple kids (or in your case, one). What if the kid hates you and decides to live its life exactly opposite to yours? What if the kid is run over by a truck? Not much of an indelible mark you're leaving
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If a child is so scarred by their parent that they decide to live their life the exact opposite way (or even just chooses a totally different path and uses reasoning like "jeez, I can't believe I had to grow up with x"), then that parent has had a pretty damn indelible effect on that kid. Also, a person's peers are usually determined by their parents: no, the parents don't pick the kids friends, but parents do decide where to live and where to send the kid to school and if they're going to pay for art lessons or whatever. A parent who actually tries is there for their kid every damn day. Do you honestly know anyone who wasn't influenced by at least one of their parents, or lack thereof? (Skipping out on your kid leaves a mark, too
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My own mother, among her many life accomplishments, is directly responsible for this and successfully argued a case that changed our state's insurance law. Yet to hear her tell it, I'm the most important thing she's ever done. (That's really difficult and mindblowing for me to hear, fyi ( ... )
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A kid's behavior is more largely influenced by its peers than its parents. That makes me somewhat cynical about a parent leaving a lasting influence on the next generation in the same way that a teacher can. A teacher at least has the statistics in their favor: out of all the kids that pass through, one out of twenty will probably be influenced, and over the years that's a lot of kids. A parent is making a crapshoot with just a couple kids (or in your case, one). What if the kid hates you and decides to live its life exactly opposite to yours? What if the kid is run over by a truck? Not much of an indelible mark you're leaving ( ... )
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