Last night, I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation the likes of which is generally only associated with the birth of a new child. No, I am not anticipating the birth of a sibling for Supaman. However, I am anticipating seeing him for the first time in nearly two months.
Having my son home for a couple days is going to be great but I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that finding out that I was going to have one more opportunity to raise another Supaman or Wonda woman (if it was a girl) would be quite cool.
Given all the parenting experiences (successes, mistakes, trials and tribulations), it would be great to do it all again. In fact, as I thought about this last night while finding it hard to sleep, I re-watched the greatest instructional video on parenting. Having thought about what being a parent really means and watching the video, I feel so much more equipped to be a parent than I felt seventeen years ago.
Oh by the way, in case you are wondering, I didn’t watch a DVD featuring some nationally recognized PhD, a late night infomercial salesperson, some self-described best-selling author or weekly contributor to a parenting magazine. Instead, I watched the movie that first made me realize how excited I was, how important it was to be a father. I watched The Lion King.
What Great Parents Can Learn From The Lion King
Yes, The Lion King. What is supposed to be a children’s movie is in reality the best parenting methods instructional video of all time. There are so many lessons and techniques that parents can glean from The Lion King. Here are just a five of the many great parenting mandates found in The Lion King:
1. Don’t expect to be able to raise your child alone; enlist the support of a village.
In the beginning scene of the movie, Mufasa holds Simba towards the heavens in his outstretched arms so that all of the kingdom could see him. Parents would be wise to make sure they have a community of people who will look out for their child’s well-being.
Parents need to make sure all those whom their child could potentially come in contact with know that the child is their beloved child. Great parenting cannot be done well in a vacuum. It truly takes a village to raise a great child.
Make sure that you know who all the villagers are and make certain that you only enlist the support of the villagers who will honor and respect your child’s potential, hopes and dreams.
2.DNA doesn’t make one fit to be a member of your child’s village.
Scar, Mufasa’s brother and Simba’s uncle, spent the entire movie doing evil – plotting to kill his brother, exile his nephew and ruin the kingdom. It is important as a parent that we remain alert and vigilant about our children’s well-being even when we consider leaving our children in the care of those with whom we share the same gene pool. Often times surrogate DNA (functional relationships) is much better than authentic DNA.
Mother, father, sister, brother…it doesn’t matter; not everyone knows how to be a parent for your child. Think about this. I don’t imagine that you would allow someone without a driver’s license drive to drive your car nor would you give your car to someone with a suspended driver’s license.
Why then would you expect one with no parenting training and/or who has failed parenting experiences to be a suitable guardian for your child? Choose wisely!
3. Don’t make promises to your child that you are not willing to keep.
One early morning, Simba awakens his dad. Simba’s mother Sarabi, upon hearing Simba, says to Mufasa “Your son’s awake”. Mufasa’s replies like many parents do when we don’t want to do what we have promised earlier. Mufasa said to Sarabi, “Before sunrise, he’s your son”.
Simply put, Mufasa wanted to continue sleeping and possibly have Sarabi do what he had promised to do. Mufasa, however, was a father of his word so he got up with Simba as he had earlier promised.
Great parenting requires that even when it is a hardship for us, if we gave our word to our children, we must do everything in our power to see to it that our promise is kept. Great parenting requires that we not expect someone else – even when that someone else is the other parent – to bear the burden of a promise we knowingly and willingly made but no longer want to fulfill. As is the motto of Nike, if you make your children a promise “Just Do It!”
4. Teach your children that we all have limitations.
As Mufasa explains to Simba that the kingdom extends to everywhere that the light touches, Simba asks as children typically do about those things outside the boundaries. Like most children, Simba thought kings can go wherever they want to go and do whatever they want to do. Great parents must make sure that their children know that there are “shadowy” places outside of the “light” that are to be avoided.
Great parents help their children to understand that even as a king or queen they bear the responsibility of doing things the right way – that they too must follow the rules. Great parents help their children to understand that following the rules is a sign of being a true king or queen and it is what compels all the others in the kingdom to follow those same rules rather than venturing into places that are dark and dangerous.
5. Children must understand that all life should be respected.
Mufasa tells Simba “everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope”. Great parents understand their role in raising children to become citizens of the world.
The world would be a significantly better place if all human beings understood their role as earthy caretakers. Great parents instill in their children that the entire earth exists together in a delicate balance and that everyone and everything is mutually interdependent on one another.
Remember, these are but a few of the lessons; there are many more lessons to be learned. If you are a considering becoming a parent, you are a new parent, an old parent, a family member of surrogate or authentic DNA, you would be well served by watching and studying The Lion King.
Mom says
I am happy that your little one is coming home for a few days. You both need this time.
Miriam (mimi) Ortiz says
What can I say Nate ,you did it again . You found a beautiful and interesting way of raising Supaman through the eyes and knowledge of a Lion King . Not many understood the whole point of the movie ,but it looks like you did and you did well . People just fell in love with SIMBA and I dnt blame them because so did I and my daughter. I’m not gonna lie either ,because I did cry n so did she . It’s a wonderful movie with a lot of meaning to it. Enjoy your time with your son when he comes to visit ,i know that you are beside yourself just thinking about it ,I know the feeling I call those special moments “Precious Moments”.