Optimistic Child

This is a manifesto for parenting. It can also be a reflective exercise. Picture yourself as the child as you read the words. Say the words aloud, or tape yourself saying them and play the tape while you quietly reflect or meditate to music. Whatever your childhood experiences were, picture yourself as the loved and cherished child referred to. Do this often.

We want more for our children than healthy bodies. We want our children to have lives filled with friendship and love and high deeds. We want them to be eager to learn and be willing to confront challenges. We want our children to be grateful for what they receive from us, but to be proud of their own accomplishments. We want them to grow up with confidence in the future, a love of adventure, a sense of justice, and courage enough to act on that sense of justice. We want them to be resilient in the face of the setbacks and failures that growing up always brings. And when the time comes, we want them to be good parents. Our fondest hope is that the quality of their lives will be better than our own and our inmost prayer is that our children will have all of our strengths and few of our weaknesses.

p 6 The Optimistic Child by Martin E P Seligman, Random House Australia, 1995.

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