When children leave our care
“We cannot hope to transfer more than a little of our wisdom to our young people – if wisdom it is. We have increasingly to stand back as they grow older, knowing that the problem is passing out of our hands. They go off to college – or to live in a flat of their own, that aim and delight of so many young people. At last they have privacy, freedom from supervision and criticism, independence – but they are now fully exposed to all that we fear….
This is the moment of disengagement, when parents must tell themselves that the young people are no longer their children and that they are outside their discipline…. It is also the moment for parents to tell themselves that their children are not alone. They are in the hands of God.”
— Kenneth C. Barnes, 1960
Quaker educator and founder of Wennington School
Today’s Invitation
Discern when to stand back.
This Week’s Query
When has your spirituality helped you in your relationship with a child?
Read the source of today’s quote
Banner art by Rebecca Price
