Parenting Dos and Don’ts As Illustrated By Les Mis
Les Miserables is a story about the selflessness of parenting. Fantine struggles to provide for her daughter. Jean Valjean earns redemption through caring for Cosette. The Thenardiers . . . are an example of what not to do.
There’s a lot to learn from this musical. We see parenting mistakes and triumphs. From the first generous act of the Bishop and his candlesticks to the last act of Jean Valjean’s selflessness, the themes of Les Miserables resonate much more for me now that I have kids. Ask any parent, they’ll tell you: To love another person is to see the face of God.
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Do Whatever It Takes
Work in a factory, sell your hair, pull out your teeth—All in the service of your children. Hopefully things will go a little better for you than they did for Fantine, but being a parent means having skin in the game.
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Read Their Mail
Parents are usually conflicted about invading their kids' privacy, but Jean Valjean shows us that intercepting messages and reading them are for your children's own good. Snoop, if you have to. And don't be ashamed of it.
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Temper Justice With Mercy
Javert clings blindly to the law. There is no room in his unyielding heart for mercy or forgiveness. Javert is the parent who screams at his child to "Finish all your fries before you drink your shake!" Don't parent like Javert or your kids might hate you.
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Be Choosy About Babysitters
You might want to be just a little more careful about who you leave your kids with. I know quality childcare is hard to find, but you can probably do better than the Thenardiers. An evening in their company could scar your child for life.
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Don't Shelter Them Too Much
It's a fine line between protecting your child from harmful influence and debilitating them through over-protection. If they instantaneously fall in love with the 1st person they meet who isn't you, perhaps you've hovered a little too closely.
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Honor Their Choices
Whether it's a new boyf they think they're in love with or a cause they think they'd die for, you'll do best to honor your kids' choices—Even if they seem naive and/or foolhardy. Your kids have their whole lives to learn about pain, slavery, toil, sin, punishment, revolution, death, and redemption.
Photo Credit: DigitalSpy
More thoughts on Les Mis, here.
Read more of my writing at Babble or check out my blog, Every Day I Write the Book.
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Ha! Thanks for this one: “If they instantaneously fall in love with the 1st person they meet who isn’t you, perhaps you’ve hovered a little too closely.” I love Les Miserables but in every version of the story am always so annoyed by Cosette. Now I see that it isn’t entirely her fault.
Well, Cosette does seem to be especially self-centered and boring. What’s Jean Valjean to do?
First of all, stunning photographs of the cast!
Second, in the book Cosette and Marius have a MUCH longer courtship period. But she still never tells her father. She was raised in a convent, so you can’t blame the girl. But I like Cosette so much more now that I’ve read the book.
And Marius has such an interesting relationship with his grandfather and father too that tells a lot about how to parent (or not).