Regalar el “no”, obsequiar la frustración.

Suena bonito e innovador.

Pero ma verdad es realmente dificil.

Una cita del libro “Father, The Family Protector” por James Stenson, co-fundador de Washington Heights (como APDE El Roble pero en Washington):

Here’s a story about responsibility told to me by another smart father:

“My eleven-year-old son Kevin is a great kid, but for many years he had an annoying problem that drove his mother and me crazy. He would lose money. I don’t mean he’d misspend it; he would somehow let it drop out of his pocket. I gave him a couple of wallets along the way, but he also lost those. This was exasperating, but I kept hoping he’d outgrow it.

“He also loved collecting baseball cards, as I do, and one day we both attended a baseball card convention that opened in our town once a year. Kevin looked forward to it for weeks and my wife and I let him take out $io from his bank account to buy some collectible cards.

“Kevin and I spent the afternoon poring over cards, and he selected a few choice ones that would come to about $io, his When we arrived at the checkout counter-you guessed
-Kevin had dropped his $o bill somewhere. Suddenly he was broke. He turned to me pleading for a loan, begging me to advance him the money to buy the cards he had in hand.
«I gathered up my courage and told him no. I explained the reasons: a deal is a deal; you lost your money through carelessness and so now you have to live with the consequences-that’s what happens in real life. He pleaded and pleaded, but I wouldn’t give in. Finally, he had to leave the cards at the counter, and he cried all the way home. This was very, very tough for me… but I saw no other way to teach him this lesson. I could not let him grow up with this slipshod habit.
“Believe me, he learned it in spades. For both of us, the pain was worth it. He started carrying a wallet, and he’s never lost any money since. That was twelve years ago.”

No dar esas cosas invisibles (como la responsabilidad) es crearle carencias al vastago que en su futura vida le haran falta y quedará desprotegido pagando con intereses esa cosa invisible que no le dieron.

La paternidad moderna se preocupa por proveer todo, excepto lo importante: caracter.