Today we hear from Museum employee Jenni Martin who reflects on a profound lesson her parents taught her and how she now uses this skill in parenting and in life. While parenting challenges may be different from when she was raised, Jenni still applies one of the same rules that guided her parents. Let’s learn more.
Jenni Martin
Director of Strategic Initiatives & CCLI
Parent of a college student
Things I learned from my parents:
“My parents taught me so many wonderful things — it’s hard to choose! But, I think that one of the most important lessons that they taught, which I practice and continue to learn from, is the idea of taking someone else’s perspective. Whenever my siblings or I had a difference of opinion from each other or from friends, my parents asked us to look at the situation from the other person’s point of view, really exploring why someone else might have the opinion that they have. This lesson is still so relevant today and one that I have practiced in my own parenting. When we walk a moment in someone else’s shoes, it expands our own thinking, opening our hearts and minds to understanding and embracing of differences.” How do you think your style is similar to and different from your parents’ style?
“As a parent, one of my biggest struggles has been around media — how much of it and when to allow it for my child. My parents limited our television consumption — no televisions in the bedroom, only a certain amount of viewing. But, I always felt lucky because I had a friend who wasn’t able to watch any television at all — and that seemed really rough. In many ways, TV shows, as I was growing up, became a unifier — something that many of us shared, related to, and laughed about together.
With the prevalence of social media today, I worry that the time spent by youth judging their peers and taking pictures of and looking at themselves is a major risk to their mental health. And yet, I know that shared pop culture and community-building are also elements that media brings to youth. I guess that part of the successful parenting approach might be something that my parents actually employed with us — an emphasis on balance. Balance the amount of time spent on social media with actual interactions with people, with nature, in community.
