It’s my way or the highway. Anything you want dear. Which parent are you? Or are you some hybrid born of the ideological psychobabble fed to you by the “organized” babysitters down at the public school?

I was tuned into the “Focus on the Family” network recently and heard what I think is the best piece of information a parent could latch onto in these changing and difficult times for American families. Dr. Kevin Leman is a world-renown Christian author and speaker who offers solutions to today’s parenting nightmares. His frank and sensible approach to the most important job we will ever have in this life is enlightening and refreshing.

Dr. Leman suggested that we explain something to our kids that is in fact the simple reality. “We are equals but with different roles”. That one sentence hit me like a brick in the face, as I’m focused like a laser most days with my nine-year old and what I can do to ensure his best possible shot in the world. Somewhere into the myriad of conversations we will surely have with our legacy, that sentence must find its way. Immediately, and while driving no less, I applied it in my head, thinking of those conversations with my boy when fairness and drama collide even if silently, and it just fit like a glove. For as Dr. Leman says, God does not love parents more than children or vice versa. “We are equals but with different roles”, I’m the parent and you are the child. Our responsibilities are different but no less important. “The Good News” is, someday you will play my role, and if I have done my job you will be great. I love you son…