Good Parenting Skills... Cheers to Adult Time!
Has our understanding of good parenting skills skewed slightly in the favor of the child? What has happened to us parents and the ole' authoritative parenting style... has it gone by the way side? Christie Mellor is one of our absolute favorite authors... below is a blurb from her "The Three-Martini Playdate; "It has come to my attention that children have become the center of our universe. Gone are the days when a small person of tender age would do as he or she was asked, good-naturedly and obediently, and the rest of the time would site quietly reading or practicing a simple cross-stitch. The child was able to carry on a lively and friendly conversation with a grown-up, when asked; but with equal good nature the youngster would disport himself to a quiet corner when it appeared that the grown-ups were converging. He might be trotted out to say his hello, perhaps to recite, possibly to help serve drinks or pass cocktail peanuts. He might sit on a lap, but only if requested by a familiar grown-up. He never presumed. One wasn't required to transport the little children here to T-ball practice, there to a "playdate"," may the chipper mommy who coined that particular term forever rot in a hell of eternally colicky babies. One wasn't required to endure swarms of youngsters teeming over the hors d'oeuvres. begging for refreshment just as one was about to take that first heady sip on one's ice-cold martini. There was water, and they knew how to retrieve it. Thre is no guilt in craving social situations that aren't wholly centered around everyone's children. There is no shame in explaining to your children that they should go and find Something to Do, that the grown-ups are having grown-up talk, that they, the little children, need to go somewhere and be little children. Whether you would like to share a portion of your time with one grown-up or a party of them, or simply enjoy a moment alone, it is time to exert a little autonomy and encourage some in your child. It's time to warm up the ice cubes, curl up on the sofa, and send darling little Spencer into the other room to play by himself. Mummy and Daddy need a little break." Are our new found "good parenting skills" creating monsters and letting go of ourselves?
Good Parenting Skills... Cheers to Adult Time!Do you have a great story or opinion about this? Share it!
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