When Is Enough?

When Is Enough, Enough?

When it comes to teaching your children, when is it enough? They are not like a recipe that you can have exact quantities to measure out. They are not something that you can sample along the way like adding to much or to little salt. They have no gauge that is built in that shows your level of input and an absorption rate. So, when is it enough?

Kids are like sponges! They have the ability to soak up so much information, even when you don’t think that they are aware of the situation. Has your kids ever come back to you two weeks later and wanted to ask a question that dealt with a subject or a talk that you have already forgot about? In our house that is a regular occurrence. They have the uncanny ability to hear, sense and remember the talk and feeling at the time, even when they seem totally uninterested and un-concerned. Which should remind us as parents and adults to be careful to know when we should say enough, and maybe stop our conversations at an appropriate time.

When Is Enough?
When Is Enough?

Is it enough when you homeschool your child all the way from pre-k thru 12th grade? Have you, at that point, done all that is required of you as a parent and you are able to call it quits and say “That is enough!”? When they are heading out into the world and you have prepared them to be a capable and productive part of society, in your eyes, is it enough? If so, what do you base your assessment of enough?

I look at it a totally different way. Enough is enough, when God calls me home. We are parents! A job that has no end, no vacation, no retirement, no pension, no sick days, no salary. You are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Does it matter that your kids are out of the house? No. Does it matter the age of your kids? No. As of now, I am 40 years old and I still call on my parents for help and advice. Thankfully they have not said “Enough is enough, no go away!”. For my kids, I will do the same. I will be that person that can be turned to, talked to, cried on or screamed at so it does not hurt others. I will try to live a life as a Godly parent so I will still be teaching them after they have left the house and are on their own with their family. When God calls me home, then it is enough.

So dad, remember this, your kids are watching everything you say, you do, your actions, your directions, your walk in life. And there are times that we have done enough. Enough damage and we, the parent, must stop and do some correction to show a great lesson in life which is forgiveness. So think about it next time that you think you have done enough and ask yourself “When is it enough?”

Till next time…
I’m just a Husband of a Homeschooling Mom,
Steve Blackston