We've all encountered them before - young parents exhibiting signs of 'first-baby-itis': fleeing a room with baby (or child) in tow when someone sneezes or pulls out food containing high fructose corn syrup, reordering their lives around the child's sleeping schedule with drill-sargeant-like rigidity and life-mapping the child's first twenty years to include the books they will like, the kind of friends they will make and the kind of spouse they will marry.
I can relate because I was that parent during my eldest son's early years. Overprotection and great expectations are natural for first time parents, therefore, Terri and I typically have a lot of patience for them - we've been there. At the same time, our parental desire to create an ideal, injury-free, untainted childhood for our kids may have more to do with idolatry and fear than true love for our kids.
Doug Wolter explores this topic in greater depth here.
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