After my daughter was born, I went through a long period in which I completely lost my sense of self. For several years, my entire life revolved around two things: going to work, and then devoting every remaining minute of my day to her.
After work, I had no personal time, no hobbies, no private space. I walked with her, played with her, exercised with her, and stayed by her side almost every single evening. Deep down, I made a clear decision: every free moment I had belonged to my child.
The War Against Screens
At the time, many children around her age were already craving smartphones, new devices, and online trends. While other parents were struggling with kids obsessed with mobile games and social media, my daughter never developed that desire. She never asked for a fancy phone, never compared herself to others, and never felt deprived simply because she did not have what everyone else had.
We never created a tense, restrictive atmosphere around electronics. Yet she naturally never became addicted, because her childhood was filled with far more real, vivid, and joyful things than digital screens could offer.
Creating a World of Real Connection
Even late at night, under street lamps, we would play shuttlecock (a traditional Chinese folk sport played outdoors) and move our bodies together. Every weekend was reserved for walking in parks, hiking on mountains, and exploring nature. On every day off, instead of staying indoors with devices, she was outside breathing fresh air, moving her body, and spending quality time with us.
Good parenting is not about harsh prohibition, strict rules, or constant preaching. It is about positive guidance, lifestyle building, and filling a child’s world with real companionship, movement, and warmth.
In the end, parenting is never about the child alone. It is also about how a parent’s quiet devotion builds a child’s lifelong sense of security.