The Sayings: You Don't Need Parenting Books

Practical Wisdom (Part V)

Back when we were expecting our first child, I was afraid. I was twenty-three and stressed — unprepared and uncertain about the reality of a baby girl being born in about a month. I relayed my anxiety to a priest. He said something along this line:

No amount of parenting books or classes can prepare you for having a baby or raising a child. In fact, your daughter doesn’t need that from you. At the bottom of it, she needs your love. And, you already have that for her. What she needs is already in you. What she needs is you. So don’t worry.

My daughter is now almost sixteen. I know I haven’t succeeded in loving her perfectly. I have had moments of brilliance and plenty of dull ones. Most gifts of self are probably marred by the selfishness of my fallen humanity or undercut by my inconsistency. But, thanks to Father’s sound advice, I try, and I try to not be afraid.

And, thanks to Father’s advice, I have never reading a parenting book cover-to-cover.