How Can We Determine How Effective Our Own Parenting Has Been?

It’s hard to determine how effective we are as parents, but if we did attempt to do that, how would we measure it?

I believe I discovered one solution. It lies with the answer to this additional question:

What practices has my son adopted for his own adult life that he was exposed to when he was growing up?

I think that’s a veritable, unequivocal demonstration of approval.

In our little world, my son has shown me that all of the weekends we spent as a family boating on Lake Erie, on the shores of Sandusky, Ohio and visiting the islands just beyond it, was time well spent.

Now he has begun doing the same thing.

From May until October, from the diaper stage until the high school sports stage, every weekend we headed to the boat, docked next to Cedar Point Amusement Park, and we stayed there on the fully-provisioned boat (snacks, beverages, cleans towels/sheets, dogs/dog food/dog toys) from Friday night until Sunday. As long as the weather was pleasant, so were our weekends overall.

Of course, kids don’t have much choice in the destinations parents decide to venture off to, but we certainly hope that the kids will enjoy themselves. Fortunately, boating could offer many options in how that quality and quantity time could be spent.

The kids often headed into the park early and rode the coasters with their dad, before the crushing crowds appeared. Later, they made friends with other kids in the marina and they would move as a pack, independent of parents.

There was plenty of dining out and dock mate socializing too. We had annual boating adventures across Lake Erie and up to Lake Huron, both the US and Canadian sides. My younger son had endless hours to play video games on the boat, and my older son seized opportunities to drive the boat and help with other maintenance activities.

Other watercrafts were added to the fleet including jet skis and a ski boat . The boys learned to wake board and water ski, along with tubing on Sandusky Bay. Their friends would occasionally join them too.

It was a real paradise and, as parents, we were keenly aware that those halcyon days would not last forever, in that nuclear form.

Fast forward about 10 years.

My son makes his first boat purchase!

It heralded the beginning of a whole new era.

But it also privately signified a massive stamp of approval.

We transmitted the skills and the passion, and he internalized everything. Then he ran with it.

Bonus material: My son has been returning to all the places where we began boating, including several inland lakes since his present boat is towable. And he is including his children at the earliest possible stages (that’s called having a pulse).

I’m very happy boating is a solid recreational activity that he’s now sharing with his young family. And I secretly relish being his responsibility-free guest!