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01-13-12 09:34 AM - Post#719981
"Pick your battles." Tiff and I thought we would pick early and easy ones with the kids. For example, the girls couldn't watch TV on school nights (the night before school). It was this thing the school came up with and we just made it a "rule."
So, we played a lot of Yahtzee, hot tubbed, played games in the backyard, laughed, and hung out. When Kelly was a sophomore in high school she asked Tiff about "bedtime." She is a sophomore...remember.
She tells Tiff, "Can I get my bedtime extended?" She honestly thought we still "insisted" that by 8:30 or whatever, she was supposed to go to bed. We hadn't thought of it in years, to be honest.
I tell parents that you need to draw the line on little things that are easy to enforce. Our girls went to Catholic School, so it was wonderful: never, not one time, did we have to discuss appropriate clothes choices. That "freed up" our parenting willpower to other areas, as the school made the rule.
I think that is why living near grandma and family is so important, if you can: you have others who give you the "willpower" to keep parenting choices. I know this, if I had a cook make, prepare, clean and set up every meal, it would be easier to eat veggies at every meal. I think we can only do so much and, IF there are easier options, you take them.
Daniel John
Just handing down what I was handed down...
Make a Difference.
Live. Love. Laugh.
Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude)
Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk.
Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth.
Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights.
Reread great books. Say thank you |
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