This Crucial Tip For Raising Kids With Disabilities Is Just Plain Good Parenting Advice, Period
When it comes to raising a child with disabilities, in many ways, the playbook is vastly different from the one for bringing up kids without any special needs. But Zach Anner, a comedian with cerebral palsy who writes for the hit show Speechless, clued us in to one rule that should be universally applied to child-rearing.
In an interview with popular mom blogger Kristina Kuzmic, he said the most important thing parents need to do is "be OK with watching your kids struggle."
"When I was younger, getting dressed independently was a huge deal for me. It took me two hours to put on my socks the first time. My mom was downstairs stressing out, pulling her hair out, sweating. But she let me struggle. And now it only takes me, like, five minutes to put on my socks."
Anner — who also advises parents to be careful not to always make their kids with disabilities the center of attention or to accidentally patronize them – believes you have to let kids, special needs or not, fail.
If his mom had run to the rescue every time he needed her, he doesn't think he'd be doing as well. As he joked, "If she hadn't been able to take a step away, I wouldn't be a cool kid in Los Angeles with a bachelor pad and a candy drawer and an ice cream freezer."
Talk about goals for your kids!