I’m not sure how many of you are aware of this but every fourth Sunday in July has been designated as National Parents’ Day. Today is the fourth Sunday in July. Happy National Parents’ Day!
The day was adopted by Congress and signed into law in 1994 by President William Jefferson Clinton. The goal of the Resolution was to encourage Americans at every level to “recognize, uplift and support the roles of parents in the rearing of their children”.
One would surmise that the President and Congress recognized that America has a problem and that problem is parents. Why else would there be a need to designate a national day of recognition for parents? The U.S. already recognizes Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Politics and Hallmark
I suspect as is often the case with governmental officials and politicians rather than telling the inconvenient and uncomfortable truth which is that Americans do a poor job parenting, governmental officials and politicians covertly set aside some “Hallmark card” day of recognition knowing full well that Americans won’t even take one millisecond to recognize or examine our inadequacies as parents. No need for politicians and governmental officials to be honest with the public and potentially incur the alienation of their political base when they can instead make a resolution for a “National Parents’ Day”.
Of all things, a resolution for ALL parents including those who have done little more than share DNA seems ludicrous. A resolution celebrating the title of “parent” even when there a few deeds or actions to support such an illustrious and vital position. A hallmark card day that is about as useful as setting aside November as National Diabetes Month and going out to celebrate a little weight loss and decreased insulin dependency with a slice of chocolate cake and a bowl of ice cream.
Celebrating when there is no reason to celebrate is one of the things we do best in America. We embrace holding false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions about ourselves – otherwise known as delusions of grandeur.
American parents have seemingly raised children to be carbon copies. Just as we remain delusional about our deficiencies as parents, we have burdened our children with delusions about their contributions to society, academic prowess and international intellectual standing.
Alphabet Soup: CIRP and PISA
Each year, freshmen at colleges and universities all over the country take the CIRP Freshman Survey (TFS). The survey provides a detailed look at students. Chief among those factors are the values, attitudes, beliefs, and self-concept students hold about their academic ability, determination, mathematical ability and self-confidence.
The research indicates that American students have more self-confidence and self-esteem than ever and believe themselves more often than not to be “above average” to “gifted” in academic ability.
Just like their parents American students are delusional. The 2009’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows an American student vastly different from the self-assessing perspective American students have of themselves. Compared to the 65 countries participating in the study, the United States ranks 14th in reading, 17th in science and a below-average 25th in math. The Assessment indicates that American students have no reason to be so self-confident or to be brimming with self-esteem.
Numbers Don’t Lie People Do
American students are confident about themselves academically and their ability to compete in a global society yet math scores – the lowest of our three PISA rankings – ironically, does not support their perspective. As parents of these delusional children, we also believe that we are doing an above average to good job as parents. Unfortunately, the math doesn’t support our self-confident opinions either.
Consider the results of a national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey assessing the use of technology among children ages 8 to 18 found that the average young American – the group that performs poorly on PISA yet considers itself “above average” to “gifted”– spends more than seven and a half hours a day using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device. The exact time spent is 7 hours and 38 minutes or more than 53 hours per week.
The quality and quantity of parenting in America is illustrated in the mathematical assessment of the average young American’s normal day. The daily accounting of how our children who spend nearly a third of every waking minute of every day using some technological device is analyzed below:
- School (average U.S. School day is 8 am – 3 pm) 7.0 hours
- Sleep (average hours per day) 9.0 hours
- Technology 7.5 hours
- Total 23.5 hours
The computation above illustrates that for all but less than thirty minutes each day, our children spend their days without any interaction from the persons being celebrated today – parents. If we calculated the time our children spent doing other things such as eat, shower & bathe, etc. the average time spent with our children would be further reduced (less than 22 minutes).
Celebrate National Parents’ Day
Today rather than doing what the average American parent will do – sit in a different room preparing to go to work tomorrow while their child uses some technological device for nearly eight hours, try something novel. Do something with your child! Celebrate National Parents’ Day and be actively involved in your child’s life! Get engaged in an activity that requires them to turn their attention from their technological devices. Get engaged in an activity that necessitates that you give your child your full undivided attention.
Go outside and take a walk, shoot some baskets, kick the soccer ball around, play Scrabble (Words With Friends in the same room) play miniature golf… Whatever you do, turn off the cell phone, turn off the laptop, turn off the tablet and turn off the flat screen TV. Do something that will make you one of the most innovative people in America (wait for it, wait for it)…PARENT.
You made the decision to be actively engaged in (pro)creating your child, please make the decision to actively parent your child. I have a sneaky suspicion that if we improve as parents, not only will our children improve academically but our society and the quality of life for ALL citizens will improve.
Maybe by something so seemingly innocuous as active parenting, our children’s confidence will actually match their academic performance and intellectual acumen. Moreover, perhaps the children we raise may find a way to leave the world a better place than when they arrived.
When you really think about parenting isn’t making the world a better place and raising great citizens what parenting is all about?
What will you do today to begin becoming a better than average parent? How do you plan to raise a child that understands the requirement to make the world a better place?
P.S. If you know a great parent worthy truly worthy of this recognition consider sending them a card or nominating them for National Parents’ of the Year.