Parenting 101 – Kid’s Perspective

I was having a conversation with my 16 year old daughter the other day about parenting.  She definitely had some thoughts of her own on parenting 101 and I want to share them here:

1) We don’t say how much we love and appreciate you guys till someone or something blatantly points it out or sheds light on the fact that you are amazing and deserve our praise.

2) We love you!

3) When you tell us NOT to do something … that becomes all we want to then do with a burning passion – (how ironic and true this really is).

4) The older we get, the more freedom you should allow us.  Don’t tighten up because you are afraid you will lose us as we get older.  Let us experience some of life before we get into the ‘real’ world, so that when we actually get there, we can use your guidance to figure out life’s difficulties on our own and then handle them accordingly.  The loser the hold, the more cooperative we are.  It’s backwards, but true and don’t just let go, but give us a lot … a lot … a lot of breathing room to make our own choices even if maybe they turn out to be mistakes down the road.

5) Don’t yell. Even when you’re “not yelling,” you are yelling….so don’t yell.

Do you think she was trying to tell me I was “yelling” at her???  Well, all of that being said, I am not sure how in-tune we always are in regards to how wise our children are and can be.

Clearly, I am human, so I have made my fair share of mistakes BUT I think it’s the mistakes that make us who we are…and the “who I am” is the person who raised my daughter and I would say I think she has a pretty good head on her shoulders, she will most likely make even better choices and decisions in life than I ever did.

So, I should put my mommy guilt about past life selections down for now…there will be plenty of time later for me to doubt myself.