So much for the 10,000-Hour Rule

Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good.” ~Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell is a great book. Loved it. Loved the writing style, premise, examples, etc. Just plain loved the book. That being said, there is at least one "skill" where the 10,000 hour rule clearly does not apply - parenting. And I am reminded of that on an almost daily basis. 

For those of you who have read the  book and are a parent, I am sure you can relate - and if you can't - well then you should write a book to let the rest of in on your secret.

Overall I think I do an OK job as a mom. Not the best, certainly, not the worst - most days I say I hold my own, but would NEVER claim to be an expert even though I have been a parent for approximately  99280 hours (give or take a few hours), so almost ten times the hours (not includeing the additional ~72330 additional hours for which I was parenting two kids) that Gladwell claims one needs to become an expert. 

So where did I go wrong?

Is it that the skills for being a good parent change as the kids grow, so that you are are not accumulating the number of hours in one particular practice area of parenting to earn that "expert" status? Or perhaps it because, as in my case, I have only been 'actively' parenting my kids for closer to 31000 hours when you take away time they are at school, asleep, at extracurricular activities, etc. Still, 31000 hours is a lot of time dont'cha think? So why is it that at least on a weekly basis I find myself wondering 'how could I have handled that better' or 'why don't I understand E/J better'? Again, if you have the answer - please share it with the rest of us fledgeling parental units.

I will continue on my quest for excellence in the parenting realm, understanding fully that while Outliers is a great read (as are some of Mr. Gladwell's other books) it just doesn't hold water when it comes to raising kids.