which came first, the parents or the kids?

Have any of you seen the show Super Nanny? I'm a huge fan because the "nanny" Jo, is always spot on with her advice. Last night was the season premier and if you happened to miss it, let me give you a quick run down of the second family featured. They had 2 teenage daughters that were 17 and 14, then 3 boys under the age of 4. Both parents worked full time jobs and left the 2 girls to watch and care for the young boys while homeschooling themselves, along with doing all the cleaning and cooking! Just to watch the two teenagers try their best to manage a household while trying to school themselves and care for their younger siblings, left the Nanny (and myself) in tears and speechless.

For thankful thursday I want to express my gratitude for competent and loving parents around the world. There are so many great parents doing it all for their kids and my applause goes out to them! I am also grateful for all the people who have positive influence on children such as teachers, friends, neighbors, etc... the impact it has lives on forever. I know that we cannot always put our children first because that would mean putting ourselves last, and that's not healthy either. It's about being able to find a healthy balance and letting our kids know that when it really matters they do come first.--LeShan