The Most Important Parent Parameter Of Them All
….it’s called time_devoted_to_kid. That’s what distinguishes not kids who “make” it, but kids who have a fighting chance to make it. It’s someone willing to devote their time in service to the needs of their kid, any kid; a kid.
So it doesn’t necessarily have to come of or for a child of your loins. And sadly the devotion is not a sure-fire bet. But as a generality it sure does explain a lot about the likelihood of a child’s success. When the child is central to someone’s attention, that is the medium for their growth.
A hallmark of this country is the amount of time spent in thrall of athletics, as spectators, as participants, and as contributors to a partisan federation focused on furthering the business of one specific sport. If you’re not currently one investing time_devoted_to_kid you may be unaware of the mind-boggling number of man-hours spent in service to the effort. This past weekend, for example, just this one past weekend in southern California alone – one of seven sections within 1 of 59 “Local Swim Committees” — nearly a thousand families each attended at least three regional swimming invitational meets. This is a first, thrice-yearly winnowing in the megalithic effort to nurture life-long fitness in our young or grow the next Missy Franklin/Michael Phelps, whichever comes first. Each family is represented by at least two
