My Daddy is Here

[169 words] David Elkind, the famous child psychologist and author of the best-selling The Hurried Child, tells this true story about his role as a parent: “I remember visiting my middle son’s nursery school class, at the request of his teacher, so that I could observe a “problem child” in the class. It so happened that I was sitting and observing a group of boys, including my son, who sat in a circle nearby. “Their conversation went like this: “Child A: ‘My daddy is a doctor, and he makes a lot of money, and we have a swimming pool.’ “Child B: ‘My daddy is a lawyer, and he flies to Washington and talks to the president.’ “Child C: ‘My daddy owns a company, and we have our own airplane.’ “Then my son (with aplomb, of course): ‘My daddy is here.’” The most important thing about loving someone is being there…