OK, that may not be true, but don’t we like to think that about our offspring anyway?  It’s kind of like having a kid that’s not all that cute and thinking he or she is the next Denzel or Halle.  We, as parents, are blind to the reality that our kids possibly have average looks and IQs.  And, for the most part, I’d have it no other way.  It’s our love of our kids  that allows us to see the beauty and potential in them long before they even know they possess it. 

Nevertheless, we also have to be honest with ourselves.  There are going to be some things that our kids will not be good at, or be interested in.  You may want a basketball champion and what you have is the tetherball master.  Or in the future you may want your kid to be a  concert pianist and all they want to do is play “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on their kazoo.  Then there’s the harsh reality that some kids are as smart as the day is long for the first several years of their lives, learning everything, then they plateau.  It’s a real phenonmenon, it happens.  Potential can and will manifest itself in your child, but it may not be in the form that you were expecting.

I started thinking about all this stuff this week after a conversation with my boss.  She is a career educator and is the head of a department that serves thousands of kids with a variety of interests.  Her advice to me this week was to keep on doing what I’m doing with regards to my child’s education and remember that a well rounded child should be the goal.  This means that it’s great your kid can read and count, but now it’s time to work on comprehension, writing, fine motor skills, arts and music, geography, gross motor skill, and one thousand other things.  Dads (and moms) we sure do have a looooooong way to go!  Â