“I hope that we now see, if we did not before, the importance of being parents to our children. Yes, being a parent does not necessitate that we cannot be their friend. It is very possible to be both. We do have to realize though, as I previously mentioned, that they are two entirely different roles. There are going to be instances in our lives where these two roles will not be able to coexist at the same time. This should allow us to see that one of these roles has to be our primary role, and the other is secondary (has to take the backseat when necessary). There are too many of us these days that put the primary role (parenting) on the back burner when it is most important to our children’s emotional and psychological development that we stand up as parents. We do this because it makes us feel good to have our children happy with us, but we forget that our job is to help them and push them in the correct direction. This does not always afford us the opportunity of having them pleased with us 100%. Sometimes we have to be willing to put their safety and well being before their wonderful smiles and praise.”
-Abu Abdillah Abdul Lateef
