HEY!!
This morning while I was doing my daily whatnots and whozits, I noticed an article posted onto my facebook wall. I clicked it and read it, and what I read infuriated me so much that I actually had to sit down and write about how ticked off it made me. It's called "5 Reasons Modern-Day Parenting Is in Crisis, According to a British Nanny" and it's complete BULLSHAVIT. Today I'll be arguing against the 5 points she's made about how people are rasing their children these days.
1. A fear of our children. Emma Jenner uses the example of a child throwing a temper tantrum because of the colour sippy cup is the wrong colour (I want the pink one, not the blue one). Ok. A lot of parents don't give in due to fear of our children we do for other reasons. You see, the ultimate truth is that sometimes....A LOT of times, it's about 50 times easier to take two extra seconds out of your day to pour already poured milk or juice into the damn pink sippy cup. If it means getting 2 extra minutes of peace and quiet, it's TOTALLY worth it. Some things just aren't worth fighting for, and when you're a parent you pick and choose your battles every day.
2. A lowered bar. I get this one, I see parents do it all the time "it's just how my kid normally is" so they either keep their kid home and wait for their significant other to come home to go out shopping (because really, 4 hands are better than 2), or they'll just let their significant other do all of the shopping so they don't have to drag their kids out. I know I'm a huge fan of waiting for my husband to go home at 3 and then goign out shopping. Sometimes I'll even leave one kid home with my husband and take my oldest with me because really, it's just easier. Do we have to? No not really, but for convenience and speed, it's again, TOTALLY worth it.
1. A fear of our children. Emma Jenner uses the example of a child throwing a temper tantrum because of the colour sippy cup is the wrong colour (I want the pink one, not the blue one). Ok. A lot of parents don't give in due to fear of our children we do for other reasons. You see, the ultimate truth is that sometimes....A LOT of times, it's about 50 times easier to take two extra seconds out of your day to pour already poured milk or juice into the damn pink sippy cup. If it means getting 2 extra minutes of peace and quiet, it's TOTALLY worth it. Some things just aren't worth fighting for, and when you're a parent you pick and choose your battles every day.
2. A lowered bar. I get this one, I see parents do it all the time "it's just how my kid normally is" so they either keep their kid home and wait for their significant other to come home to go out shopping (because really, 4 hands are better than 2), or they'll just let their significant other do all of the shopping so they don't have to drag their kids out. I know I'm a huge fan of waiting for my husband to go home at 3 and then goign out shopping. Sometimes I'll even leave one kid home with my husband and take my oldest with me because really, it's just easier. Do we have to? No not really, but for convenience and speed, it's again, TOTALLY worth it.
3. We've lost the village. I guess this one would be about the lack of discipline with kids these days. While I agree that there IS a lack of discipline in a lot of kids, I don't agree with the fact that the parents are the ones who need all of the support. When I say no, my kids know I mean NO, so they don't bother. They'll run into their rooms and have the temper tantrum and everything will be peachy in 10 minutes, but they still don't always get what they want. The problem lies equally with both parents and children these days in my opinion. Parents are getting younger and more careless/care-free and don't bother disciplining their kids....and kids can use threats like "I'm going to call Child Protective Services on you if you spank me." Sometimes, spanking (which hurts feelings and DOES NOT leave marks), is the way to go. I don't think there's a lack of discipline with kids. I think there's a lack of PARENTING.
4. A reliance on shortcuts. Technology isn't something we can avoid in the age that we're in. I've seen kids use an iPhone better than I can. I think it was about 2 years ago that we made the decision to go cell-phone free, we're slowly starting to wittle our technology down to nothing but we just can't go that far. Technology can be a beautiful thing that can help kids learn things like reading and writing. I don't think there's a reliance on shortcuts, but the shortcuts can be improved. I'm not saying "don't give kids technology because it'll cause them to be bratty and unmanagable," I'm saying "your kids will learn when it is and isn't appropriate to use the educational tools you have on your smart technology by the terms you set." You can give it to them in the cart, and no doubt they'll learn something new, provided you have the proper educational programs to entertain them.
5. Parents put their children's needs ahead of their own. Of course we put children's needs ahead of our own. Again, I think her point regarding this topic is absolute bulls**t. We are wired to put our children first. From when they were first born until we take our last breath, we'll always think of our children first. There's nothig wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with going into your kid's room and cuddling them after they've had a nightmare. There's nothing wrong with going across the zoo to get your kid a drink because she's thirsty. There's nothing wrong with saying no either, but pick and choose your battles. Always remember to treat yourself, my health is equally important than my kids but instead of putting it FIRST, I try to find a middle. Scheduling doctor appointments at the same time as my kids appointments, reading a magazine WITH my daughter, watching sports WITH my son. Most of the things that you can do by yourself that you enjoy, your children will also probably enjoy. Instead of fighting against it, why don't you include them?
Her toilet reference was also inaccurate. We have 1 bathroom in our house, and a potty training two year old. When you gotta go, you gotta go. I've seen my son run outside and pee in the backyard he's had to go so bad and the bathroom was occupied.
So there you have it, the things that absolutely ticked me off about this "Nanny's" article. What do you guys think, do you agree with what she's said or do you have differences of what you think is wrong with parenting these days? I'd love to hear from you guys!!
4. A reliance on shortcuts. Technology isn't something we can avoid in the age that we're in. I've seen kids use an iPhone better than I can. I think it was about 2 years ago that we made the decision to go cell-phone free, we're slowly starting to wittle our technology down to nothing but we just can't go that far. Technology can be a beautiful thing that can help kids learn things like reading and writing. I don't think there's a reliance on shortcuts, but the shortcuts can be improved. I'm not saying "don't give kids technology because it'll cause them to be bratty and unmanagable," I'm saying "your kids will learn when it is and isn't appropriate to use the educational tools you have on your smart technology by the terms you set." You can give it to them in the cart, and no doubt they'll learn something new, provided you have the proper educational programs to entertain them.
5. Parents put their children's needs ahead of their own. Of course we put children's needs ahead of our own. Again, I think her point regarding this topic is absolute bulls**t. We are wired to put our children first. From when they were first born until we take our last breath, we'll always think of our children first. There's nothig wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with going into your kid's room and cuddling them after they've had a nightmare. There's nothing wrong with going across the zoo to get your kid a drink because she's thirsty. There's nothing wrong with saying no either, but pick and choose your battles. Always remember to treat yourself, my health is equally important than my kids but instead of putting it FIRST, I try to find a middle. Scheduling doctor appointments at the same time as my kids appointments, reading a magazine WITH my daughter, watching sports WITH my son. Most of the things that you can do by yourself that you enjoy, your children will also probably enjoy. Instead of fighting against it, why don't you include them?
Her toilet reference was also inaccurate. We have 1 bathroom in our house, and a potty training two year old. When you gotta go, you gotta go. I've seen my son run outside and pee in the backyard he's had to go so bad and the bathroom was occupied.
So there you have it, the things that absolutely ticked me off about this "Nanny's" article. What do you guys think, do you agree with what she's said or do you have differences of what you think is wrong with parenting these days? I'd love to hear from you guys!!
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