Finding Magical Answers to Parenting Parenting feels as if it should just come natural, like a new born foal knowing its mother by the first scent. However, many people who become parents for the first time realize that this knowledge does not appear with the wave of a wand. A parent must make many decisions in the course of their lifetime concerning the welfare of their children and those decisions can and will have tremendous effects on their children’s lives. Some of these decisions can be very heart-wrenching because a parent has to make a decision without knowing exactly how the decision will change their children’s life. The children may view these decisions very differently. A parent must consider how their decisions will affect the many aspects of their children’s lives in order for that child to grow and learn successfully. In the poem, I Go Back To May, 1937 by Sharon Olds, the author paints a picture through the eyes of a child. The author describes how she goes back in time to see her youthful parents about to graduate and get married. The child sees her parents as innocent, unknowing and not wanting to hurt anyone. She reflects on her past and wants to say, “Stop, don’t do it-she’s the wrong woman, he’s the wrong man, you are going to do things bad things to children” (Olds, 449). But the child does not do it, she wants to live. The child is dreams of stopping her parents from marrying; obviously, the child has felt immense pain during her childhood with her parents. Many parents struggle to decide what is best for their child; moreover, obtaining the answer is quite a mountainous feat. No one knows for sure how a child will react to life changing decisions and parents are faced with some tough questions. For some people, the decision to become a parent is well-planned, and coordinated with the economics of raising a child. For others, parenting