Infinite Worth

It seems that many parents these days equate their children's self worth with their successes or failures in various pursuits, such as school, sports, music and other activities. It seems that this is largely about the parent's self worth and not the child's Every child is a magnificent masterpiece of God just for who they are and not for what they accomplish. Parents seem obsessed with the future of their children and don't treasure the present moment with them. This is lets them know that what they do is more important than who they are. What young children really want is the love of their parents. Many parents though start to push their children towards organized sports and other activities at a young age in hopes that a head start would help them achieve much more, but to what ends?
Many parents even think that free play outside is a waste of time, the world is cruel and competitive and children don't have time to waste playing when they should be preparing for such a world. Not only is authentic play not a waste of time, it is so necessary for the healthy development of children. It is where children learn so much about themselves, thus actually making them more effective in dealing with the world.
Children are miracles of God, they are all unique and have unique gifts. Unfortunately, parents, schools and society overall treat children that they are all the same and want to get them into the rat race with other children in various ways. What parents so often do gets in the way of authentic play and the flourishing of the children for who God made them to be.