Discussion

The short story “We Can’t Be Good At Everything” by Emma Sloley deals with parenting and how a parent’s absence might affect a child if that parent focuses more on work than family. This is a topic which everyone can relate to which makes it relevant for discussion.

Primarily, a parent who focuses more on work than family life might make a child feel neglected. Though the child may receive a lot of affection and care from the other parent, they may still feel the working parent’s absence. Unless children are made to understand that a parent’s absence has nothing to do with them, they may even feel like the working parent does not spend time with them because he or she does not love them. In the story, this is illustrated by Miles thinking about his own name as his mothe...