The Babysitter has a great new post up called Spoiling Children. She discusses the negative effects of spoiling your children and offers tips on how to prevent it from happening. I don't know how a young woman who is not yet a parent herself got to be so smart about parenting, but she has really hit the nail on the head with this one. (She must be a great babysitter!)
I've been surprised to realize lately that it is not enough to avoid spoiling your children when they are little. Now that my kids are entering adolescence, they often exhibit the same kind of irrational, moody, whiny, and demanding behavior that toddlers do. I worked so hard the first time around to make sure that they didn't become spoiled, but now I find that I have to do a lot of the same work all over again. My sister always says that teenagers are just toddlers without diapers; there are days when that seems to be true. But I'm older now and I have much less patience for this kind of nonsense than I used to. So, sorry kids. Quit whining. Momma's way too cranky to care anymore.
6 comments:
Heh. I'm with your sister, I always said a teenager is a terrible-two, only with a better vocabulary.
And I also don't have the patience I had when they were two. Now I basically tell them to get over themselves or just completely ignore them.
The whining will drive me to drink.
"I don't know how a young woman who is not yet a parent herself got to be so smart about parenting, but she has really hit the nail on the head with this one."
I wrote the post for my speech class of public speaking, this one is supposed to be a persuasive speech, so that's good that it worked. But to answer your question of how I'm so smart about parenting, well I can't really take all the credit on this one. I used 2 sources for it.
Pediatric Adviser Spoiled Children: Prevention
and
Spoiled child and Parents on Medicine.net
Minutes before I read this post I was just complaining to a co-worker that my ex-husband buys the kids toys every single time he sees them. I hate it. The kids don't appreciate it when gifts come so often and easily. They play with something once, and then never touch it again because they know something new is just around the bend. I wish I could stop him from doing it, but he just doesn't get it.
baila-
Please don't start drinking. It will just give them something new to complain about.
babysitter-
I hope you got an A on your speech. You deserve it.
anonymous-
That's a tricky situation. Your ex may be trying to alleviate his guilt by buying the kids presents. As much as it bothers you, it's probably better not to fight with him about it, because that's even more damaging to your kids. But you have my sympathies. I know how much divorce complicates child-rearing.
Baila,
If you're going to take a drink do it now. With teenagers around it gets to be where you can't afford to take a drink.
Teens and toddlers=not much difference EXCEPT teens can get drivers licenses.
My father always told me: If you don't make THEM cry when they're little, they'll make YOU cry when they're older.
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