There was an interesting article in the New York Post this weekend. The thrust of the article was that parents aren’t doing anything positive by occasionally having lunch with their kids at school. Read closely though, and you will notice the main “source” is someone who seems to resent her child constantly bugging her to come have lunch at school with him or her.
The modern parenting narrative has become one in which the parent’s wants and needs always come before the wants and needs of the child. We pretend there are parents who are overly involved in the lives of their children, but the sad truth is the vast majority of kids don’t get any of the things they really need from their parents. Instead parents provide lots of “stuff” and swoop in to “save the day” if Johnny or Susie becomes unhappy for some reason.
Continue reading Christian Parenting: Does Quality or Quantity Time Make the Difference?
Nothing bothers me more as a parent than to hear an adult encourage kids to “be sassy”. As if this is a trait to be admired! Many adults find disrespectful talk hysterically funny – especially from the mouths of young children. Of course, laughter just encourages the “sassy” child to continue speaking disrespectfully in hopes of getting more “positive” attention.
Want a formula for childhood misbehavior? Let’s plan a month when they don’t get nearly enough sleep, feed them tons of sugar, drag them all over the place, make them sit for hours in the homes of relatives they barely know…and leave their presents at home they have been asking for since…forever.
One of the best things about the holidays is that your kids get time off from school and many of their activities. Bed times can be a bit later, because they can sleep in a little longer. You have more time at home together.
“That’s baaaad!” I’ll never forget how amazing we thought we were, because our parents had to keep asking if we meant “bad, bad” or “good, bad” when we told them something was “bad”.