Parent report card

Illustration credit: Maren Kranking

In the chance game of life, I won the parent lottery. I had two parents who were crazy about each other, and poured that love abundantly onto me and my siblings. My mom and dad were audaciously awesome, both as a couple and as parents. They told me every day that they loved me, that I was beautiful, and capable of anything I put my mind to. Like most kids, I thought my parents were crazy. But I also thought that if they could be fooled, it was possible that someday I might find one other person capable of similar delusions. Lucky for me, I found just the man: a wonderfully supportive and loving spouse. Now we are raising two kids together, and of course the expectations I have for my own parenting are impossibly high. I'm measuring against the standard of audaciously awesome. But here's the thing: my only audience is my kids. So it really doesn't matter what the world's standard is, or what the grandparents or neighbors or people at the park think. What matters is what my kids think, measured against the standard that I set.

A few years ago, when my children were nine and twelve, I developed a parent report card. Here's my daughter's review.

Offering this report card to my kids in effect told them what I think my job description is. And it gave them a chance to say how they think I'm doing. Clearly I have some things to work on— no surprise there. Now I know where to focus my efforts.

What do you want to be measured on? And by whom?

Here's a blank version to use as a starter for crafting your own report card. Please consider sharing what you create so we can continue to learn from each other!