I can empathise with your experience but know that it is by no means unusual. Indeed, tragically it is far too common and more often than not, unlikely to end as well as did yours.

Humanity has a major deficiency when it comes to parenting, at least it does in most modern societies of which I'm aware.

The deficiency is the ubiquitous notion that once a child is born, those responsible for its conception automatically become 'parents' and as such are entitled to rights over that child.

In fact reality provides very different evidence. That fact is that most 'parents' have little if any understanding or knowledge of child development or good parenting. Although particularly true at the time of the first born, this ignorance may continue over the birth and growth of many children.

It is also true that many 'parents' have neither the emotional maturity, nor equanimity, nor mental or physical resources, nor support, nor education, nor intellectual level to be able to rectify their ignorance by knowing the steps to take, from whom to seek information and what to do in a crisis.

Unfortunately, our society is such that it is not unusual for what ought to be regarded as the most important of roles, to require satisfaction of few or often no relevant criteria, nor demonstration of possession of qualities, knowledge and character appropriate for undertaking the role competently. Parenting is probably the most important of such roles but another, for example, is political or public office, even at the highest of levels.

Perhaps it is time that we began to examine the validity and appropriateness of 'self-selection' to some of these roles, particularly when they have extraordinary control over the lives of other human beings. ☮️

#BeOpen