Klara now listens to books and / or plays on her own for hours. I’m free to do whatever I want. Read, watch Mexican soaps, take baths while reading and watching soaps. This situation plunges me into intolerable feelings of guilt. If you ask why, you are probably not a parent. Guilt is the default state. I feel like a horrible mother because I’m not entertaining her. Even though she adamantly refuses to be entertained and insists she wants me to leave her alone.
2 responses to “Parental Guilt”
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Didn’t you enjoy playing alone when you were a child? I remember I did and a lot.
May be, thinking of N’s and your own past and present joy of being inside one’s head w/o external interference would help deal with residual guilt.LikeLike
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I know the default is guilt, but this should be a source of pride. Especially since she has no living siblings. So many parents of “only” children give into the guilt and cultivate a child completely dependent on having the parent as a constant companion. It’s a true accomplishment that she is both capable of – and shows a clear preference for – entertaining herself.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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