Am I Ambitious?

Dictionary.com defines an ambitious person as "a person who wishes to rise above his or her present position or condition. The ambitious person wishes to attain worldly success, and puts forth effort toward this end".

Recently, I was reading an article about ambitious parents who overstimulate their kids with all sorts of extracurricular activities. One parent bought her son a PDA to help him keep track of his schedule. He's involved in baseball, football, basketball, swimming, etc. He is 10 years old.

Beth leaned over, saw the headline and asked, "Are you an ambitious parent?"

I paused.

How do I answer?

If I say yes, should I feel bad about it? Does being an ambitious parent make me one of those scary Asian parents who push their children academically and send them to private schools and drive up house prices in the school zone?
If I say no, does it mean I'm lazy and lackadaisical and setting up my children for underachievement?

At this point, Beth goes to jazz and tap class, Chinese class and Yamaha keyboard class. Her Saturdays are mad. We have to schedule our activities around her class times. But last I checked, she loves her ECAs. Okay, maybe not the Chinese class. Yet. We read the 南瓜青年 story (a weird tale, that one) the other day and she made me tell it in English!

She's been begging us to send her to swimming classes. We keep putting her off, telling her she's got quite enough to do now that she gets extra homework from her teacher.

Sometimes, Beth frets that she doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up.

I tell her there's plenty of time and plenty of options. Besides, Mummy's nearly 38 and still isn't quite sure she's in her dream career. Not a particularly inspiring role model, huh?

So am I ambitious as a parent?

I suppose it must be yes. I have dreams and expectations. I also have a good idea of my children's abilities. I want them to have every opportunity to explore those abilities and see where they lead. It's all about possibilities and potential and finding out how far one can go. I don't think I'd be the sort of parent who takes a "bo chap/anything also can" attitude to my children's development. I would want to have a say in how they're getting on, to help if I can, and to find help if I must.

Just because a person is inclined towards one field doesn't mean she has to become a professional in that field. There are so many ways to use a God-given gift.

What I do stress to Beth is that God gives gifts for a purpose, not just for our pleasure but also to serve others. If she's a gifted reader, there must be something God wants her to do with her gift. Perhaps she could encourage her friends to read good books, or she could read to the littlies (like J)?

So yes, I am an ambitious parent.

I hope to raise ambitious children. As opposed to children who can't be bothered to learn and to make the most of their blessings.

I am still learning all the nuances of what ambition means. As the girls go through the school years, I am certain there will be ample opportunity for our family to find out together.