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| By Safe Call Now's Dr. Laura Brodie |
In my work
with cops, I’ve worked with their kids. Cops need to hear what their kids are
complaining about. “He treats me like a
suspect.” “She doesn’t trust me.” “He is cold and unfeeling, telling me what
I’m doing wrong and never what I’m doing right.” But in talking to cops, I hear
over and over how much they love their kids and remain confused about why their
children do not feel their love. Being a
cop is a job that bleeds over to one’s personal life. The same can be said with
psychologists. We psychologists place our
own children on the couch of “processing” everything instead of allowing our
children to simply be kids. Cops tend to respond to rule breaking in a matter
of fact way, slap on the cuffs and haul them in. But what if this person is your
child?
Parenting is
not policing and approaching your own child as a felon will only result in hurt
and anger. Law enforcement individuals desire their children to turn out as law
abiding. This can result in a rigidity
that does not allow the child to have a healthy rebellion and disagreement that
can result in a healthy adult. Your kid is going to be a kid. Your kid is going to push rules, hit buttons
and try to be adult too soon. Your job
is to navigate this without instilling fear or doubt in your child, allowing
freedom and individualization while monitoring for disaster. It’s a hard job.
But in all of it you have to realize, this is your child who needs guidance and
not an individual who needs harshness.
On the job a
cop cannot accept disagreement, but as a parent you have to accept rebellion
and understand that this rebellion allows for healthy development. If you
police a child like a felon you risk multiple dangers. You tell your child
he/she is untrustworthy, that they cannot make good decision and you know better
than everyone else.
