I’ve been accused of being a strict parent before. Other parents have rolled their eyes at me and told me it was no big deal if my daughter didn’t say “please” and “thank you” at this age, and told me I was too harsh for dropping everything and leaving a playground if rules were broken. I was accused of being a helicopter mom because I wouldn’t let my three year old play in the front yard by herself.
But I’d like to think that setting boundaries now will make my job easier when Cordy wants to wear makeup at eight years old, or begs for a tattoo at fifteen. Hopefully, she’ll know the rules well enough to not even ask about those things. (Oh please oh please!) I don’t think I’m being too harsh, though – I give Cordy plenty of freedom within the boundaries of the rules.
Now I can say that a celebrity mom agrees with me. Actually, she’s more strict, and she knows far more than me about how to properly raise kids. Read my review of the book Mama Rock’s Rules to find out more about the parenting advice offered by Chris Rock’s mother.
I’ll read the review in a minute, but you know what? You have to parent the way you want to. Other people’s opinions are just that: opinions. It’s no one else’s job but YOURS to be a mother to your kids.
Given the shenanigans of some of your neighbors, I wouldn’t leave the girls alone in the yard either.
We’re similar parents. Though I don’t think the boys will be asking to wear makeup when they’re eight.
Or… I don’t think so.
If you’re strict, I must be as well. People in our complex let their three-year-olds play at the playground with absolutely no supervision, and I’ve seen too many close calls involving kids and cars because of it.
Both of my kids (3 and almost 5) say please, thank you, you’re welcome, “bless you” when someone sneezes, and “are you okay” if someone gets hurt. It’s second nature to them.
You’re right. Starting with being a little strict now makes it easier when they’re older and have the ability to try and negotiate.
My three year old son can’t play in the front yard by himself. I don’t even leave him in the privacy fenced backyard by himself for longer than it takes to run inside and get something. He has been expected to say please and thank you since before he was two years old, and usually he says it without being asked. Setting rules now will make it easier to set rules later.
helecopter mom, so there is a word for me…neat, it’s way better then the words i called myself…paranoid crazy head….
wait.
i’m still that too.
Damn!
Well, if it makes you feel better, I was actually impressed my how much room you gave Cordy at the playground last week (was it the week before? I can’t remember anymore). You didn’t seem too strict to me.
If I let my just-turned-four-year-old play in the front yard by himself, I am certain he would be hit by a car. There are near misses with kids on our street all the time. Bad combo of teenagers/old people driving plus school age kids playing pickup basketball or hockey in the middle of the street. And I know my kid would go join the kids playing in the street, even if I told him not to; he’d wander out at some point without thinking, since all the older kids play there.
So anyone who wants to complain to me about not letting my kid play in the front yard unsupervised can thank me instead for their lower car insurance premiums. Sheesh.
Also, agree that it seems much easier to me to teach kids to say please and thank you at an early age as part of normal speech than it would be try to convince them to do it later.
I’m with you all the way on this. I think I’m a bit more strict than some of my friends, but I don’t care.
My kids are polite, know their boundaries (although they do push them a bit). But at the same time, they are kids. I get that.
But they are my kids, my responsibility to raise them to be good people.
I am pretty strict too. But my kids know how to act. Well, most of the time..LOL!
So many times I have been called a strict mother. I’ve been told I don’t let my child be a kid.
I also don’t get calls from the principal, my child is clean and well-behaved and she is safe when she is with me.
Do I surround her in a bubble? No, but I refuse to let her be one of those children that you feel sorry for because their mother doesn’t put enough effort into raising her.
Sorry, sore subject.
I just found your blog and so far I like it.
Simply,
Loula