Parenting and Dr. Seuss

Any Dr. Seuss fans out there? Have you ever read the story Horton Hatches an Egg? I'm not sure if Dr. Seuss was being prophetic about relationships within families, submitting his own research on attachment theory, or just entertaining children with a good story with a good message. Let me share with you something my parenting teacher shared with me; the profound insight that Dr. Seuss had about families that he cleverly disguised in a story about elephants and eggs.

You know the story, Mayzie the bird is tired of sitting on her egg and asks the kind elephant Horton to do it for her while she takes a rest. The bird splits and Horton sits on the egg through many difficult circumstances, all the while stating "I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful 100%". Here are some interesting parallels with Horton the Elephant and parenting practices:

• Before Horton sits on the next he props up the tree to make it stronger
• Horton stayed on the egg even when things got difficult (storms, hunters, a journey across the ocean..)
• He believed "No matter what happens the egg must be tended"
• He received criticism from his friends who found his practices unpopular 
• When Mayzie wanted the egg back it hatched and was and elephant bird, demonstrating attachment to Horton
• "They were happy 100 %"

Interesting. Maybe a children's story, maybe an insight into family relationships and the bond between parent and child. Thank Brother Rarick and Dr. Seuss