Dr. Shefali Tsabary: Children Are Not Easels

Dr. Shefali Tsabary issues an uncomfortable challenge to all modern parents: Give up the need to control your children. Many of us grew up feeling stifled by authoritarian parents. That is why it's crucial, she says, to "give up your superiority" if you want your children to think and live freely.

The "inconvenient truth," she says, is that many parents project their unfulfilled dreams onto their progeny. Nevertheless, it's important to be mindful not to let your child become an extension of your ego.

"Our children are not our easels upon which we get to paint the life we never had," Dr. Shefali says. "Our children are not the diamonds and the jewels you get to adorn yourself with to mask your emptiness. And your children are not your puppets by which you get to fake an authentic life. Your children do not need that burden on their shoulders."

In the above video, Dr. Shefali invites parents to transform the traditional power dynamic in a parent-child relationship in order to empower their children.