Parent Explained In Four Simple Words
A recent conversation with a parent that I have the utmost respect for inspired this post. During our conversation, the other parent (whose name I won’t mention to protect the innocent) encouraged me to ponder how to best explain the role of a parent.
Just as I was prepared to wax poetically about what it meant to be a parent and as I was readying my vocal chords to loquaciously profess my undying love for Naeem, the other parent challenged me to explain parenting in one sentence or less. Notwithstanding the fact that brevity is not always one of my strongest traits, I accepted the challenge.
DEFINE PARENT
“Parenting”, I said “can be expertly explained using four simple words – Don’t Change, Keep Improving”. As the words “Don’t Change, Keep Improving” where leaving my mouth, my brain asked “could that really be all there is to parenting?” Can parenting really be reduced to the words “don’t change, keep improving”? Actually, I think it can!
However, never one to believe that I should say anything without being able to prove it, I Googled the word parent. According to Merriam-Webster, a parent is: “one that begets or brings forth offspring and/or a person who brings up and cares for another”.
Oh and before I forget, I want you to know that from the moment I started reading the definition, I knew I was right. Well, actually I knew that I was right all the time but I just needed to prove it.
But I digress.
DON’T CHANGE
I don’t know if you realize it but the definition of parent delineates what I believe are the two edicts of parenting. The first edict of parenting, “Don’t Change”, is clearly depicted in the definition. When one examines the definition, it is clear that the primary role of a parent is to always bring up and care for a child. Sadly, more often than most of us care to admit, there are a large number of parents who either fail to understand or have forgotten their primary role.
For the forgetful and the unlearned, being a parent means that regardless of the age, size, or socioeconomic standing of a child, your child will always be your child. Although, your child might be grown, a parent, or even a grandparent themselves – the role of a parent is unchanging. And while, the need to clothe or feed a child might be a thing of the past – the value in feeding your child’s spirit with hope and inspiration and the importance of adorning your child with love and devotion is never ending.
Without question many of the tasks of parenting will change as your child grows and matures. Nevertheless, the process of parenting always stays the same. As such, parents should never change.
Never changing means remaining cognizant and vigilant about the lifelong parental responsibility to lift up and care for the life that you brought forth. Never changing means extending yourself and giving your all to your child just as you did when they were an infant.
Parent is synonymous for always giving the life you created the best of you! Parent means eternally giving the life you created all the love you have to give!
KEEP IMPROVING
The second edict of parenting, “Keep Improving”, might seem contradictory to the first edict. You might be wondering how does one not change but keep improving. If you are conflicted about my theory or find yourself wondering if I’ve lost my mind, I must tell you that I’m starting to wonder if you are half as smart as me. Seriously, coupling “don’t change” and “keep improving” is not only essential to being a parent it is actually quite simple to understand.
Keep Improving can also be described as C.P.E. – Continuous Parental Evolution. Although “Keep Improving” comes after “Don’t Change”, “Keep Improving” or C.P.E., is no less important. Children grow and evolve which means parents must absolutely do the same. That’s why any parent who hopes to enjoy an active and engaged relationship with their child – regardless of their child’s age or station in life – must be embrace the edict, “keep improving”.
Keep improving equals staying current so that you can remain relevant to your child. Fortunately, staying current doesn’t mean you have to change who you are. So relax!
“Keep improving” doesn’t require you to become a hip-hop connoisseur, a technophile or a social media junkie. The specialness of “Keep Improving” is that it simply helps you avoid being seen as a classic. “Keep improving” makes it possible for you to avoid being relegated to the place where all classics go – the museum.
Trust me, you don’t want to be a classic because not only are classics kept in museums but classics rarely ever leave the museum. Even worse classics are typically only visited during holidays or on some preplanned field trips. I’m willing to bet that you hope your child wants to spend time with you on a more frequent and spontaneous basis.
Parents who “keep improving” will avoid the unenviable fate of classics like the Model T – a car that is nice to see every blue moon but no longer functional for daily use. Parents who “keep improving” enjoy the added benefit of a vehicle like the Tesla Model S P85D – a car that is the envy of the public and one we can’t wait to drive everyday.
In short, parents have the option of being a warehoused classic or being useful and relevant. I don’t know about you but I want to remain useful and relevant so I plan to keep improving.
THE END
So now you know. Parenting can be defined in four words – Don’t Change, Keep Improving. More importantly, you now know what I knew when I started this post. Even in brevity, I’m always right! 
Have you made changes that impact your relationship with your child? What are you doing to avoid being labeled the family “classic”?