Reminder: I reserve the right to change my mind about anything I say I will or won't do on this blog.
I am all for diversity and variety, but diversity and variety can make it a complete pain in the ass to parent my kids the way I think is best. If other parents do things too differently (read: cooler or more awesome than me), it just makes an already hard job harder. That's the rub.
Some parents get all weirded out by the prospect of their kids going to school with kids who are of different races or are poor/come from the ghetto.
I get weirded out by parents who buy their kids lots of stuff. And then I get pissed when I hear the parents who do this bitch about their kids always using said stuff or wanting more stuff all the time.
We don't have cable/satellite television. We have two tvs in our home (which is one too many in my opinion), and none of them are in bedrooms. The kids do not have cell phones or DSs. They never had Tag systems or Leap pads or any of that other stuff for "teaching your children how to read." We don't have an in-car dvd player (and the portable ones we do have only come out for rides longer than 2 hours). The kids get toys on birthdays and at Christmas, and if they want anything beyond that they must pay for it themselves.
N will hit the decade mark next year, and it pains me to even think about her turning 13 (and not because of hormones). Around these parts, turning 13 seems to be associated with "getting a cell phone," which I think is hugely ridiculous unless said 13-year-old has a regular babysitting gig and enough money to pay for his/her phone and monthly service.
Of course, we also have a landline because I don't want my kids talking on a cell phone. Basically, I'm living in 1981.
I try my darnedest to keep my children thankful for what they do have and cognizant that stuff doesn't make a person happy (or doesn't make them happy for very long). This second part is a very, very difficult concept to instill in children when it seems like everyone else has more and better than what they have (in terms of toys and other superficial stuff).
I am all for diversity and variety, but diversity and variety can make it a complete pain in the ass to parent my kids the way I think is best. If other parents do things too differently (read: cooler or more awesome than me), it just makes an already hard job harder. That's the rub.
Some parents get all weirded out by the prospect of their kids going to school with kids who are of different races or are poor/come from the ghetto.
I get weirded out by parents who buy their kids lots of stuff. And then I get pissed when I hear the parents who do this bitch about their kids always using said stuff or wanting more stuff all the time.
We don't have cable/satellite television. We have two tvs in our home (which is one too many in my opinion), and none of them are in bedrooms. The kids do not have cell phones or DSs. They never had Tag systems or Leap pads or any of that other stuff for "teaching your children how to read." We don't have an in-car dvd player (and the portable ones we do have only come out for rides longer than 2 hours). The kids get toys on birthdays and at Christmas, and if they want anything beyond that they must pay for it themselves.
N will hit the decade mark next year, and it pains me to even think about her turning 13 (and not because of hormones). Around these parts, turning 13 seems to be associated with "getting a cell phone," which I think is hugely ridiculous unless said 13-year-old has a regular babysitting gig and enough money to pay for his/her phone and monthly service.
Of course, we also have a landline because I don't want my kids talking on a cell phone. Basically, I'm living in 1981.
I try my darnedest to keep my children thankful for what they do have and cognizant that stuff doesn't make a person happy (or doesn't make them happy for very long). This second part is a very, very difficult concept to instill in children when it seems like everyone else has more and better than what they have (in terms of toys and other superficial stuff).
1 comment:
Amen sister! You are not alone...we don't have cable or satellite either. Many of the sixth graders at my oldest's schools have phones and texting and instagram accounts for Pete's sake. I have told our kids that they will get cell phones when and if they actually need them and can help pay for them! I don't even approve of them having the iPhones my husband brought home for them to play games on :( old school mamas unite!
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