What Jordan B. Peterson and Marcus Aurelius Say About Parenting

“From my mother, [I learned] piety and generosity, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts, and further, simplicity in my way of living.”

~ Marcus Aurelius

Of all the blogs, articles, and books I have read about being a better parent, I have found no better advice than “do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them” (Peterson, 2018, p. 144). I use this as my motto for everything that I do when it comes to my children. Peterson writes that the world is a harsh place at length, and people do not care about your child the way you do. This sad fact drives me to do my best every day to teach my children to be pleasant. It is vitally important for parents to do this for the betterment of society. Hard work and discipline are two qualities that cannot be taught but can be instilled; it is our job to make that happen for our children.

Peterson speaks endlessly about the importance of adding value to the world. In my experience working within a low-SES school district, I found that children from undisciplined homes tended to be disruptive, angry, entitled, and at times, aggressive. It would break my heart to watch these young adults close doors in their lives before they graduated high school. The worst was knowing that they would not receive the same opportunity or the same level of education as their peers because of their choices.

As a mother, I worry about the decisions I make with my children, and I hope that I will be better for them. I wake up and tell myself today I will not lose my cool on my children; I set goals for myself, and I hold myself accountable by using a habit tracker. I found this at Target. The image below is from my first week of using the habit tracker; my goals are centered around building my life to show my children what hard work and discipline can do.

I am a role model to my daughters because I want to ensure they will have all the opportunities they deserve in life. Every parent I know wants to give their children the world from the first time they hold their bundle of joy.

As a parent and educator, I have discovered that we all have the same goal; the success of our children.

Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations discusses the many characteristics that he learned from the people he surrounded himself with; this is something that we continue to speak to young people about; you become like the people in which you spend your time. Aurelius talks about learning the “endurance of hardships, and to want little, and to work with [his] own hands, and not to meddle with other people’s affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander [...] and not to busy [himself with] trifling things” (11). He writes this in a long list of characteristics in which a person should aim to achieve. Positive influences in our lives will change us.

References

Aurelius, M., & Long, G. (1973). Marcus Aurelius and his times: the transition from paganism to Christianity. Walter J. Black.

Peterson, J. B. (2018). 12 Rules for life: an antidote to chaos. Random House Canada.