Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Why is parenting so hard?

It's tough knowing whether or not you are going about things the "right way" when it comes to raising your children. How do you teach them to be responsible? I believe in leading by example but I feel like I am a very responsible person and that attribute is not rubbing off on my fourth grader! I've tried the polite talks, I've tried the grounding, and I've tried the yelling. Nothing works. These are my frustrations, the bedroom is ALWAYS a mess, clothes get left wherever they are taken off in the house, homework gets put off till the last minute and then I get the good old "I forgot" and this morning the bus was missed because said 4th grader piddled around. I then told said 4th grader to stand in the driveway and wait for the bus to come back by but instead he stayed up by the house so the bus kept going. This put a wrench in my day because today is the day the M goes to Mrs Bettys so I had to get him ready and I stilled had to feed Chase before we left. But if the 4th grader was late for school then I would have to get the other two out of the car to sign him in. This all looks really trivial now that I'm writing it out but I was super mad. How do I teach him responsibility? Any suggestions from parents that have been there are much appreciated.

Onto fun stuff:

My friend Big Nanny has nicknames, hence the name "Big Nanny", for her family that she uses when she blogs about them. The nicknames make her blog a fun read. Anyway, I've wanted to do this with ours but I didn't want to be a copy cat. Well, I've gotten over that and I hope Big Nanny will be honored that I wanted my blog to be like hers. I have thought long and hard about naming us and it is quite a difficult process. I have figured out names for the little ones though.

Introducing:

The Turkey
Butterball ain't got nothin' on this guy

The Ham
This one is full of himself

The Bologna

You won't get more of it from anyone else

8 comments:

  1. don't you just love kids? I remember the days of the fear of missed bus when Rebecca was in kdg, Leah was 3 and Katie was a baby. I would tell her that if she missed the bus she was just going to have to walk to school because I was NOT taking her! It's worked pretty good all these years, but I have had to break down a few times lately. (Not that I would really make her do it, but it scared her pretty good I think!)

    Won't it seem silly in a few years when the teenage worries come along that we fretted about stuff like this? -- meaning, I'm in the same boat as you!

    O:)
    Melissa

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  2. Two words: Marble Jar.
    It's a God-send.
    ~H

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  3. If God made parenting easy...I don't think we would or they (our kids) would appreciate it/(us) as much!

    It's like when you actually buy something with your hard earned money... you take a little bit better care of it versus when something is just given to you. Not that I don't appreciate gifts, but you know what I mean.

    We love our kids soooooo darn much, and want them to say,do, be, wear all the right things and when it doesn't wotk out as we envision we lose it :) Been there many times and still am there, but still loving the gift of life God blessed me with no matter how CRAZY they make me!!!!

    Praise God His mercies are new each day or each second of the day!!!

    In the end...good or bad...all that counts is they knew you cared!

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  4. I've been in the same boat with teaching Brianna responsibility lately. I think I'm going to get a marble jar.

    Love the food related names and I'm a copycat too.

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  5. Wow you are not kidding. Parenting is by far the most difficult. I find myself wondering I am leading and teaching him the right things and not sweating the small stuff. I agree with Melissa, teenage years will be a lot harder. We will look back on this and think it wasn't such a bad day.. I love the cute names. I wish I could come up with something so creative. Keep up the great work. Your a WONDERFUL mom to some terrific boys! Aunt Erin

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  6. Wow, Tabitha I dont have any advice for ya since I am not there yet and me and my brother were always pretty good- my Mom sure was lucky! Now I can just see Connor doing things like this and I know you are not alone in this! Just wish I could help. I love the names by the way- great! And the blog looks awesome as always.

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  7. Love the nicknames! As far as being a parent it is the hardest thing in the world, and there is not a one all fits all manual. Try it all with love, the only thing I can add is try not to yell, no use raising your blood pressure, & somrtimes the phrase that gets the most attention is "I am so disappointed in you"
    Love GrandRoyal

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  8. Yes, we did the marble jar last summer. Ask me about it next time we get together (which hopefully will be soon?!).

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