What a story, I'm sure I am not the only parent smiling wistfully at your prose, we have all been there. I struggle all the time with "Want" and "Need", the latter tends to get lost in the urgency of desire.

What do we do? Our offspring are a microcosm of our own lives, for me I often reflect on how my life was growing up - and how I want my children to experience life. Hardship makes a solid firm grounding for life, it's not easy and learning to accept the downs with the ups is an essential part of development.

But if it is too hard then they may give up and feel despair. It's a delicate balance. I want to give my children the best I can, even if it means I have to sacrifice myself, but at the same time they have to appreciate what they get and learn from it.

So we come to reward for effort, as they grown and learn our children can do amazing things - and that is what should be rewarded. They often want to be independent and achieve on their own - but those little boosts in life help them achieve full potential.

Great post, very though provoking and it made me really think about my own life and family. Thank you for sharing.

#thealliance #witness