Parenting or Painting

I was taking shower today (01/29/2005). Suddenly this saying popped up "A program is a baby of the programmer". It applies to any other field like "a piece of art is the baby of the artist" or "a song is the baby of the composer". What about "a person is the art of the parents". As would be father of a baby boy, I was thinking about what principles I would teach my son. It seemed that Life of a man and wife is devoted to the work of creating a person for future by molding the baby with shades of culture, religion, views and principles the parents deem fit to preserve or cherish.

So true it seems to me. I hear film critics comment some times that so and so director really knows how to project so and so actress to enchant the audience with her presence in so and so role. The fact is that the aspects of the actress, which are intune with the role she plays, are emphasized and the actress is let loose to play on those innate aspects of her. Similarly, parents, without imposing their desires and expectations, should let the strong points of the child to grow by teaching him/her to use them for positive purposes in the society. On top of that parents can decorate him/her with cultural, religious, spiritual and ritual shades they identify themselves with. That child surely becomes a jewel in the society he/she lives. That gem of a citizen is the result of creative expression of the parents in the society.

The child carries not only the genetic imprints of his/her parents but also carries the impressions of his/her parent's hopes, despairs, likes and dislikes of the system or the society they live in. What more does an artist do? I see parenting is not different than painting.