Extreme parents don’t necessarily take a break over the summer. Neither does Michael Thompson. “You know you’re an extreme parent,” he tells me, “if you send your child to camp for a month and then you go on the website every day to find a smiling picture of your child and you get frantic and call the camp if you can’t find one.”
Michael Thompson is a psychologist and school consultant. He’s author of the book “Homesick and Happy: How Time Away From Parents Can Help A Child Grow.”
Some wisdom from Michael Thompson:
“You can’t give your child self esteem, self esteem is a by product of skill.” [1:45]
“You can’t give your child independence. By definition you can’t give it.” [2:50]
“Camp is not school. I’ve got nutty parents who are thinking about college admissions when their child is in 2nd grade. That kind of anxiety bears down on kids. I believe summer should be a break from it.” [8:50]
“Children like to learn, but don’t always like to be taught.” [24:31]
“Parenting makes you very serious and a bit judgmental. And the way you are wired into your children is both wonderful and for them a bit burdensome. That’s parenting to me.” [26:40]