Parenting is like kite-flying.  When you begin, you keep the kite close, work with it, and carefully control each move.

 

But the goal of kite flying is not to keep it close -- it is to watch it soar, to watch it do what kites do.  Parenting is like kite flying.

 

As you and the kite grow in your skill, you let the kite out farther and farther.  But dangers come along -- trees, wires, other kites -- and then you reel in the string to bring the kite closer.  You regain control, and as things stabilize, you let the string out again. Parenting is like kite-flying.

 

During a successful kite-flying experience with my son, we went into supper and tied the end of the kite to the clothesline.  It was really up there, and we went inside to eat.

 

When we came out again, that kite was doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing -- it was soaring, and we were proud.  It didn’t seem to need us at all.

 

Parenting is like kite-flying.