Can You Overdose on Love or Should You?

An Overdose of Love?

A Conversation

I overheard a conversation between a teacher at a certain school and parents of an 11 year old during a teacher and parent meeting. The purpose of the meeting was for the teacher and the parents to review the child's  performance at school and the possible ways this could be improved.

Surprise from the Teacher

To my surprise, one of the remedies  she gave for improvement in performance was the need for the parents to hold off on loving their child too much!

When i heard it proposed, I said to myself. 
'This goes against all the teaching in medicine and healing and sociology. I had just read that persons with strong family bonds do not easily become drug addicts! Across the ages, the wise men and women had said the greatest of these was Love!  Can love be too much? Can too much love cause a child to do poorly in class?
I could not help myself. I joined the discussion. 

"What did you just say?  What does it mean?"
I asked the teacher.

She is Seeking for Attention

"Yes  Tracy seems to get too much love and attention from home and then she seeks the same attention at school."
The teacher said.

"Wow. The teacher even knows what happens at home?"  I thought.

"But that is not your focus..." I brought back my mind to the subject matter. "We are talking about love and attentive love". I told myself.

"Yes she gets too much of it"
Teacher persisted. She had it all worked out.

I turned to the parents. They had been put on the defensive.
'Oh no..We dont love her too much. We do not give her too much attention. She is the youngest but we do not love her too much."
The father said.

The mother was less talkative. Seemingly confused. Looking on without comment.

"Yes,  you need to reduce the attention you give to her at home. She is behaving like a baby.'
The teacher was now going full swing.

An Overdose of Love?

I could not stop myself. I turned to the 'teacher' and said.
"There is nothing like too much love. The parents should continue giving her all the attention she needs but just add discipline. Love can never be too much. Love at her young age is what she needs to overcome whatever challenges she is having and to be strong. She should also be taught discipline but she should also be loved a lot."
In my heart I was thinking; How can this teacher know how much attention this little girl receives at home?

The father added;

"Nobody has ever died of an overdose of love."


I turned back to my own business and left them to continue with the lady teacher.

When i walked past  the three of them later on my way out of my own meeting, I saw the teacher's hand interlaced with the mother's hand as they talked. The father of the little girl stood aside.

I wondered. 
"Who is this teacher that wants to hold hands with a mother but tells her to ration the love and attention she gives to her own little girl?" Was it not for the teacher to seek to bond with the child so that the child could learn better? Why did she seem to want to bond with the mother instead? 
Many questions.

Was she really a trained teacher?  If so, is this what she was taught in teacher training school? I started to think that maybe it was the teacher who needed the attention and not the little girl? 

As I walked away, I thought. 
We have many great teachers but many primary school teachers in Uganda need a lot of training. A lot.

May God save all little children from such teachers. As I went away i thought of what the father had said;

Nobody has ever died of an overdose of love. 
In fact the opposite is true.