The Glass Castle

This month, our book group is reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  It’s a memoir about growing up in a seriously crazy family.  I mean, crazy.  The book consists of short stories or remembrances and is very hard to believe.  It’s as if the parents had read a parenting book and then applied all the principles in exactly the opposite fashion.  I have a feeling it will lead to very interesting discussion among my group of moms.

I have read several life stories where the parents were pretty much absent from the scene and so the kids had to become the providers.  They learned to take care of themselves and their siblings.  They became independent, inventive and smart because they had to in order to survive their childhood.  So does that mean the parents were doing right?  Do we keep our kids sheltered in childhood too long?  Is some level of neglect needed to help a child reach their full potential?  Deep thoughts for a Monday.  Good thing I have a few more weeks before ponder…..