When did everybody get so bleeding precious about their children?! I know that I'm not a perfect parent but honestly it seems as though some people just want to keep their child in a bubble forever and not let the real world in.
It makes me feel as though I'm doing a hell of a lot wrong in that I let my 2 yr old play with action men who have guns, we have pretend sword fights when we're being pirates and I even let him have juice!!
Judging by some of what I was reading on mumsnet earlier this is all wrong. Oh well. Little boys have always played with toy guns, they have always had sword fights and a bit of juice is hardly the end of the world.
I don't believe that any of these things are going to turn him into an antisocial yob so where is all this namby-pamby stuff coming from?
Yes your little darlings may fall over, they may even hurt themselves and shock horror they may at times not like you. even if you only ever feed them lentils and water and stop them playing with sticks they may still turn out to be complete arseholes as adults. thats life.
Yes parenting plays a massive role in shaping our children but it seems to me that the more you try and wrap them up and protect them then the more they will have to rebel against.
At the end of the day my children have rules, they have boundaries and they are bloody well told off when needed, but I still feel that they need to know about the world. They know that some children aren't as lucky as they are and dont have fresh water, toys or food. They know that sometimes there are bad people who do naughty things and they know that sausages and bacon come from dead pigs.
They are polite and happy despite knowing that there is a world where people arent always cbeebies style happy and that things wont always go their way. I am proud of how I bring my children up even if sometimes mumsnet and netmums make me feel awful and like a shitty parent.
Everyone parents differently and I'm pleased to say that despite me apparently doing everything wrong I have two very polite, sometimes cheeky but most importantly HAPPY (although that may be the sugar) children who are a pleasure to be around and perhaps we should all stop coddling our children and give them the respect that they deserve.
Our children should know that they are lucky to have the things that they do and surely by knowing about the realities of life we are better preparing them for an uncertain future?
It's funny how everyone has an opinion on every aspect of parenting (even if they don't have children / had children 20-30 years ago) isn't it? Life's too short to be over protective / over strict. As long as they know wrong from right you're doing a fab job :-)
ReplyDeleteOne thing you need to remember is that each family is different. You can listen to advice, but you don't have to follow :) So don't get too upset if others think its wrong with what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, as I don't have great teeth, I tried to look after my children's teeth more than what my parents did to mine. I'm still brushing for my 3 yrs old just to make sure all areas is covered. People might think its over protective, or she's suppose to do it herself, but I will keep doing it my way. I do avoid giving her juice, or just give her 1 cap of juice to a full cup of water. Dentist's advice, so I follow. She has her 5 a day so she's not missing out.
The only problem I have with boys and guns is that I hate being pointed at with it. I let my daughter play water gun with her dad, but again, as long as she doesn't point it at me. I think, as long as they know their limits, its fine really.
So again, every family is different, and no parents are perfect :)
Read The Idle Parent - it's a fab book. I'm just reading the chapter called 'Bad parents are good parents' or something along those lines :D
ReplyDeleteSome excellent points :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear about these cotton wool wrapped kids, I always wonder what will happen when they grow up - at some point they will have to learn how things work.