Chapter 1.2: Labels and Labeling

“Labels and Labeling”

As for labels, if you label it, it is not an enduring label.

名可名非恆名。

Any label that can be pinned on our children is just that – an artificial appendage that will not stick. It will never fully capture the true essence of who our children are or what we as parents are trying to do to raise them properly. We live in a world of labels, as parents one of our greatest responsibilities is to liberate our children from the burden of socially constructed labels like “jock,” “nerd,” “dead-head,” etc. Even well-intentioned friends and family sometimes fall victim to the pervasive tendency in Western society to conceive of children (and even adults) in terms of “the athletic one” or “the sensitive one” – such arbitrary labels assign unfair roles to children, preventing them from simply experiencing their childhood and becoming their own unique and authentic selves.