Mothers and Daughters
I recently found myself in a discussion with several women about how to treat our grown daughters. One of the women complained that her daughter was manipulative. This made me pause to think about how I felt about this. That seems to me to be a word that many people use about parents or children along with the phrase ‘passive- aggressive’. So here are some of my thoughts on this emotional issue.
First of all, ALL CHILDREN ARE MANIPULATIVE!!! (That is one of their charms) Babies get mother’s milk by being manipulative, They get hugs and snuggles that way…..And in some families they are taught to continue what seems to be consciously manipulative ways of fitting into their family. But some behavior seems less purposefully manipulative than other types, depending on the sex of the child and their innate personality.
Many continue manipulative behavior even as they grow up, often because they have MANIPULATIVE parents …or one parent who is that way.
Parents who complain about their children being manipulative are really missing the point of parenthood. Of course our children sometimes try to get their way, to bend us to their will, but parents do that too. And some of them do it to excess.
Don’t be one of those. Do not become “stubborn ” about your opinion about who is “right” in a particular case. You will be a lot happier if you let these things go. Your daughters will be a lot happier. Why not opt for happiness? (Being right can sure be lonely.)
Don’t stay and listen for one more minute to someone who would encourage you to disrespect your daughter because “it is my right” to do something that would cause her to feel her wishes are not being listened to and implemented.
You must “give a little” or a LOT in order to keep the peace and to show your daughter the UNCONDITIONAL love that a mother normally has for her child. Growing or grown daughters are women in their own right. It may be hard for some mothers to acknowledge this. Perhaps because it makes them feel old or perhaps because they cannot let go of the perceived authority of parenthood.
I am 69 years old. My mother is still alive and she can still make me feel small, or mean, or spoiled ….or whatever she wants to make me feel. Lucky for me she is a very NICE mother and she does NOT use her power to hurt me.
(Even so ….sometimes I do get my feelings hurt because the relationship between mother and daughter is so intense.)
These things need to be discussed between mothers, daughters and grandmothers because the sweetness of a good relationship is too important to risk. Never let lack of communication come between you and your closest relatives. Even if they do not respond. It never hurts to let them know you love them.
3 thoughts on “Mothers and Daughters”
“the UNCONDITIONAL love that a mother normally has for her child.”
what happens if that unconditional, maternal love was never ever there in the first place? bonding never occurred, and it’s virtually impossible to create something?even an affinity?that just wasn’t or ever will be there…
i’ve taken your points onboard though and will bear it in mind when relating to my daughters.
One reason I am such an advocate of natural, unmedicated and peaceful home births is that the bonding that takes place in those circumstances is so much more “imprinted”. What happens to This is why I prefer home births, peaceful and undisturbed. Poor babies in hospitals, taken from their drugged C-sectioned Moms and manhandled by strangers rather than being held skin to skin by their mothers sickens me.
No one should come between a mother and her newborn. Everything else can wait. Measuring the baby, weighing it? Who cares? Suctioning it’s little nose and throat are also invasive unnatural things to do.
No wonder we have a lot of babies and mothers who never really bonded. But just as you would bond with a child you adopt, a mother can bond later. In fact I believe it is NEVER too late, even in adulthood. What is necessary is honesty. When people can be honest with each other about their feelings, their hopes, their dreams and their differences then there is a chance of mutual respect and love for each other in spite of the differences.
This is so true, I can relate.