Sunday, February 26, 2012

Open Question: What Opportunities and Values Do You Want for Your Kids?

We're working on filling out a bunch of paperwork for our adoption application, and one of the forms will be used to give birth mothers more information about our family. It includes this question:

What opportunities, experiences and values do you plan to offer your child(ren)?

Now there's a difficult question to answer in just a couple sentences! But I thought I'd turn around and pose the question to all of you: how would you succinctly sum up the opportunities, experiences, and values that you want for your children?

We're looking forward to reading responses from all of you, including anyone who has kids, wants kids, or just has something to say :)


Update 2/29:
Some responses we got via Facebook:

Aaron: Lots of walks; the occasional wheat-free, corn-free treat; the occasional highly treasured, stolen sock (as long as it's not actually eaten); sun-soaked spots on the couch and floor in which to rest; visits by beloved friends and family

John: I would want my child to know empathy, to be able to see the world from another's perspective. In order to live on a crowded planet, it helps to not be inflexible, to not always have to be right. The best way I know how to learn empathy? Global travel and reading. Lots of reading.

Tyler: Family structure, support, and above all unconditional love; appreciation of good food shared with good friends; travel and exposure to other cultures; sense of humor; music; and a solid moral foundation (kindness, manners, and the like). I'm probably forgetting something. Keegan says it's cheating to get others to answer your app questions ;).

Michael: If we were to have children I would want them to grow up with a close connection to family, to value what they have more than what they want, and to instill in them a sense of wonder about the world.

2 comments:

  1. I keep thinking about this important question, and failing to come up with anything brilliant.

    Some of the top VALUES I hope to share with my child... (tho' HOW to do this is a mystery):

    -Kindness
    -Respect and love for all forms of life
    -Honesty
    -Appreciating what she has been given
    -Mindfulness
    -Helping others
    -Equality
    -Sense of self and self-worth
    -Strong work ethic
    -Valuing diversity

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    Replies
    1. I'm right there with you! It's easy to talk about what you want for your child, but how to get there...

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