So what parenting rules do you break?
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive July-December 2005:
So what parenting rules do you break?
Really this is just for fun, no debates please. After reading some of the posts here, it seems like most of us some parenting that others dont agree with. So what rules do you break when it comes to parenting LOL...All in fun... Ill go first.
1)rock the baby to sleep(I did it with all 3),and dont put in crib until asleep.(I know this is a big rule breaker for some)
2.)Let baby have Paci in bed
3.) I dont bathe baby every night, every second night, except if she is really dirty.
4.)I let my older kids have tv's in their room, but with rules, no tv after 7pm(that rule is always followed)
5.)I let them eat McDonalds or other fastfood at least once a week
Ok, these are just a few...
What are your parenting rules you break..
I saw this on another board, so thought I would ask here,.
I am sure that I have broke so many that it isn't even funny. LOL
Dd was a pacifier baby and I am sure that I SHOULD have taken it from her long before I did.
I am sure she watches more tv than most people think she should, but she is well rounded and gets straight A's and has lots of friends and I don't think that it is going to harm her for life or anything.
I didn't realize there was rule on fast food, but if eating that more than once a week is bad, I should be in jail right now for child abuse.
hmmm... I am sure there will be more for me once I learn all the rules from others. LOL
Oh I have more
I DONT make my kids eat veggies at every meal time. Sure I try to get them to eat healthy, but dont force it. I know which ones they like, and have those around.
Sometimes We do have separate meals, one for us and one for my 6 yr old(She is the picky one). Sometimes is just a bowl of noodles, but something different then what we eat.
I also let them watch movies in the car when we go places. It makes riding around much quieter.
Who made up these rules?
I always rocked and nursed Matthew to sleep every single night. Heck Cameron has been sleeping with me for the past 3 months and DH is in the guest room - I bet that's a big one for some people.
Pacifiers - the latest research indicates that it is a good idea to give your babies pacifiers to sleep with. It reduces SIDS by 90%, they don't know why but apparently this is the newest thing.
I'm so sleep deprived there is no way I can bathe two children every night. Matthew can go days without a bath and Cameron one or two days. If I notice he's getting a little flaky (cradle cap) in the tub he goes. If Matthew is getting a little funky DH will shower with him in the morning, but honestly these days sometimes I can't remember when Matt had a bath.
Rules I don't think I'll break, a bottle in bed, he's breastfed anyway, but even if he wasn't I don't think I'd break this one.
TV in the bedrooms, well we are not there yet and never say never, but I don't think they will have TVs or computers in their rooms.
Matthew tends to like veges more than anything but really with a toddler I'm just happy when he eats and doesn't throw it all over the kitchen.
What other rules? Honestly I didn't know there were hard and fast rules to parenting .
~ ooopps I posted twice.
Vicki- ROFL laughing about your fast food comment. Seriously cracking me up!
I'm pretty picky still about the 'rules'LOL, but keep in mind I only have one, only plan on having one, and still 'think through' everything! LOL
My rule breakers right now:
>Paci, but only at bedtime or naptime
Serious jail time for these two:
>Watches TV while she eats breakfast
>Spanked 2x
Fun thread...can't wait to see who else should be in 'parenting jail'
Jackie, thank you for starting this thread! I feel so much better! I have done some of the above. T.V. in her room doesn't apply yet, but I we do a big no-no. We sometimes eat dinner (my dh, dd and myself) on tv tables in front of a movie! Usually one we've especially rented for Lara. My husband and I did this all the time before Lara came along. I know it's important to eat at the table. I cave in because Lara eats more if she's caught up in a movie, and getting her to eat anything is a hard these days. I probably break other rules, as well, this is just one I'm most embarrassed about.
Call us the ultimate rule breaker Household!! LOL
My all time favorite is when me and the kids go to Mcdonalds, Wendys....I let them play and eat their dessert before their meal. I figure we are here to have fun! The looks I get can be hilarious!!! Especially from the moms that are trying so hard to get their toddler to eat and then play!
My kids have tv's in their rooms but only watch dvd's.
We are a co-sleeping household so my son who is 6 will still sleep with us at times, and my duaghter 12 try's to kick her dad out so she can sleep with mom. LOL
We go for frozen yougurt or ice cream as an after dinner treat atleast 1x a week.
Too many to list. 
Stori, thats a good one about letting them eat their dessert before their meal. Sometimes(in the past)We would just eat dessert and no meal. Its been a long time though. Usually thats something me and the kids did.
Im glad you all are enjoying this post. Its just that there so many rules that are "expected" of us as parents, its nice to know we are not perfect, and we parent to suite ourselfs and kids, not others.
Oh I have another rule I break. When I take a shower in the morning. I lock my bedroom door, and put Faith in the rocking chair and put on the Wiggles for her..She sits there the whole time without moving.
Also if Im having a juicey conversation with one of my girlfriends(that doesnt happen often)I often put the Wiggles on for Faith, just so shes occupied and quiet for those 20 minutes LOL
Oh edited to say, the she is locked in my bedroom,. LOL Rocking chair and tv are in my bedroom, as well as the bathroom LOL
I picked up my babies, when they cried. One of my friends thought it was good to let babies cry. "It exercised their lungs." I thought she was crazy. She also thought babies should be on a schedule. I let mine make their own schedule.
When Sarah was a newborn and I was carrying her around a lot, my mother asked me if I was always going to do that! LOL! Well, heck yeah. I waited 8 months to see her, I'm going to carry her around! (she was early!)
I drove my mother nuts by not pushing potty training with my kids. So, they were both three. What did it matter? They didn't go to kindergarten in diapers.
I had big thoughts in my head, about letting them cry-it-out, but in reality, sometimes something was really wrong, that they were crying and I couldn't stand listening to them cry.
I put on KidsSongs Videos for my kids to get peace and quiet sometimes.
In Lamaze class, they told us babies born before 37 weeks go to NICU. Sarah was born at 36 weeks and a day and never went to NICU! Emily was born at 38 weeks and weighed 8 pounds. She is the one who spent the night in NICU! So, I broke rules with both of them, on the days that they were born.
Oh, and I laid my kids on their tummies. Wasn't so much an issue with Sarah, but that "back to sleep" thing just started when Emily was born and I ignored it. I never laid them on anything soft and fluffy, though. It was only on the crib sheet. Oh, I covered my babies with blankets, too. I guess you aren't supposed to do that, now, either.
Oh man. Here we go. Please don't kick me off of the board.
1. I started sleeping with my DD when she was 5 months old. Full-time working mom and I needed sleep. She sleeps alone now but my DS, age 7, and I sleep together everynight. Same reason. Plus, the DH snores and thrashes in bed.
2. Until DD was about 6 and started doing her Power Shower Hour, my DH or I would throw the kids in the shower with us. Saved lots of time.
3. I let my kids stay on the bottle way longer than the baby books advised. Oh well.
4. I gave my DKs table food as soon as they showed interest. Yes, even eggs and dairy products. Both DKs were on table food by 8 months old. They hated baby food. Awesome eaters now.
5. My DKs have TVs in their rooms.
6. I let me DKs have Pepsi for breakfast every once in awhile. Especially if they stayed up late watching Head Bangers Ball. That's a joke. They hate that show.
I could go on and on. I try to ignore all of those parenting rules and just go by plain old common sense. It seems to be working so far.
Dora,
My kids would have fun in your house...lol
Jackie,
I too, utilize the tv if I need phone time...BAD MOMMY!!! LOL
Oh goodness... I break them all I'm sure.
I rocked mine as long as they would have me. LOL
This will probably give someone a heart attack...I gave blake ceral in a baby food bottle when he was 2 mos old because he was nursing allllll day and allllll night. I just lost my mind and started to try anything to make him sleep and get off my boob. He would eat, then fall asleep on me, then when i went to lay him down he'd wake up and want me again. So basically *I* was his pacifier.
We put Blake's crib in our room and it converted to a toddler bed. He slept in our room until he was 3 yrs old. If dh is gone he sleeps with me. Many nights I let him fall asleep in our room and then dh carries him up to his room. *rolling my eyes* The child is rotten.
All 3 of my kids have a tv in their room and dvd player and a game system of some type.
All 3 have computers. But Blakes is really old and doesnt work good at all.
They dont get up with an alarm... Mama rubs their back or scratches their back to get them up. We should probably work on that one. Sometimes when I am waking my oldest up he asks me to put his clothes in the drier to warm them up and I do it for him.
We dont eat alot of fast food, but we DO eat at a local mexican food rest. *atleast* once a week that we enjoy going too.
All the boys take a shower every other night. Unless they have been playing hard and are sweaty or dirty then they have to get in the shower before they get in bed.
I have bribed my kids before to get them to do things...
In a way, I have taught them to be sneaky, because I will pick a child from time to time and we sneak out for a banana split. We dont mention to the other kids where we went. (of course now they have all figured out whats going on)
When we go out in the country I let them drive...
I am sure I have MANY more rules that I break or have broken...
Guilty of most, if not all - except the Pepsi - we drink Coke .
I really try to just be consistent in setting big boundaries and give my son the freedom to cross - or not cross - the little ones.
Ame
Nobody told me there were rules.
I don't break any rules. We are perfect.
NOT!!!!
LoL! My kids barely ever eat veggies. Not that i don't try. But i really do not try often enough. They do eat plenty of fruit though.
My kids watch more t.v. than they probably should. But they are still healthy smart kids. No damage done.
We have no t.v.'s in any of our bedrooms, i'm proud of that fact.
I am sure i have broken many more *rules*!
I let her have way more fruit drinks than I told myself i'd let her have. (Not just fruit juice... Kool Aid, Tang, Capri Sun etc...)
I let her have Kid's Cuisine frozen meals for lunch a few days a week.
She knows McDonald's just by looking at the arch, nuff said.
I havn't broken the tv in the bedroom rule and and havn't been tempted (fingers crossed, lol)
Hmmm... i'll have to think more about this. I know i'm pretty strict with her but I also know there's got to be more things I let her get away with.
Allright whew here we go , Tayjayr is they are going to kick you off the board then i'm gon got be right behind you. I've been breakign them for the past 10 years since I've been breakgn them fo rthe past twn years that i've been a mom, too many to list but I will try to give you soem good ones.
1)Dd slept wtih em until the age of one, ds will be 2 on friday still sleeps with me ( and I just bought him a bed for Christmas), what can I say the room needed decorating.
2)Both kids went to sleep with bottles. DS wakes for the bottle in the middle of the night now he doens't wnat milk he wnats soda I give ti to him( working mom) need that rest easier to give it to him.
3)Becaues I'm too tired to take my kids to the playground and ita a big no-no for them to go out alone, I only have a couch in ym living room no tables, no dining room furniture, so that they can play ball, jump rope, roller skate, throw the ball, just abotu everythign they could do outside but can't becue mom is too tired to go out.
4)the fast food rule , broke that oen a long time ago and can probaley top it, if there is chips ad soda in the house ,On SaturdayIm tired sometimes so I will take and let the kids have junk food for breakfast.
5) my ds that is turnign 2 Friday is still in diapers and he gets his paci at night.
6) They have a tv in there room and soon to be ds 2 is a master at turning it and finding the Doodlebops on it.
7)I let my 2 year old vacumm my floor ( honestly I hook the vacumm up for him and he pushes it around) on Saturdays becaue I'm usually tired from the work week and waking up in the middle of the night to get him a bottle.
8)DD is old enogth to do the shower thing , ds he isnt' in day care right nwo stays hoem wtih a relative, so we dont' always sdo the bayth thing every night , unless he is jstu especially a little funky form throwing up or something.
Oh - and as far as fast food, what does it tell you that my speech delayed son's first words were french fries? And the first letter of the alphabet he recognized was M?
Ame
Here I go, too.
We co-slept with my first son until he decided he wanted his own bed (about 4 months ago). We were glad too because he's such a crazy sleeper.
They don't get baths every night as part of their bedtime routine. They get them every other day, in the afternoon.
I'm starting to let my older son watch more than the is it 1 hour of television limit? He has also had fast food.
I sometimes let my son play ball in the house. That was because we were in an apartment and the streams outside were always yucky with mosquitos and such. The parks around my area were pretty bad, too.
I still nurse my 7 month old on demand, even though I'm "supposed to" be nursing him only every 3 hours. I even nurse him in the middle of the night. Twice. He's just a big eater. He does sleep for four or five hour stretches, thank goodness.
I'm sure there are a ton more.
Oh, and both of my boys are tummy sleepers, since the day they came home.
Great thread!
- We don't stress over whether our kids eat or not. If they eat, great, if not, oh well. I also don't care if they snack often. There is rarely soda or junk food in the house, so snacks are usually healthy.
- We pick our battles and tend to let the small stuff slide.
- Our kids spend too much time on their computers. Yes, they each have their own PC! 
Forgot a few! LOL!
- I co-slept with my newborns. It was easier to breastfeed and I got more sleep that way. It also hurt too much to get up due to my c-sections.
- I always nursed on demand.
- We let DS suck his thumb until he was 7.
I'm sure I could think of more if I really put my mind to it!
My kids have been co-sleepers (until they are 1yo and I can't stand it anymore), they watch too much tv, they don't eat enough veggies (one or two a day, tops), my ds was a tummy sleeper, my youngest had a binky until she was 3 (she still remembers it), my kids love Kool-Aid (although I try to ration it to once or twice a week), they all are addicted to any kind of potato or tortilla chips, they only bathe every other or sometimes 3 nights (although with their eczema, I do have a Dr's pass on this), I let the television watch them when I want to be uninterrupted on the pc, my youngest slept in the master bedroom (her own bed) until she was four, we have fast food or pizza once a week and they always get happy meals and none of our kids get an allowance yet. Have I broken enough rules to go to Mommy Jail and have a much needed vacation? I'm sure I can come up with more, if necessary!
This is such a great thread. I have to admit to feeling like I can't usually admit to these kinds of things without being slapped down for it.
I allow (and eat myself...) cookies, cake, or brownies for breakfast.
Sometimes DD takes poptarts in her lunchbox.
No set homework rules (probably because DD just does it on her own without prompting).
I'm a short order cook and prepare separate meals for each picky child.
Last night I paid my oldest $1 to be nice to her sister.
Both DDs have occasionally eaten breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the couch in front of the TV. They also snack in front of it. NORMALLY they eat at the table, but if a favorite show is on, I do indulge them and set up a tray. That, or we blast the sound and they can see from the table into the family room.
I make up the rules as I go along, so I haven't broken any. 
Don't like that answer? Okay, then, ditto Cat and Mommmie.
Oh, forgot this big one. My girls (5 and 9) don't have ANY chores.
Rules...who said there had to be rules!
My dks were very into their pacifiers. My youngest was never without one until he was 2, and you could almost always find a few stuffed in his pockets.
Both my boys didn't fully potty train until they were almost 4.
I don't limit TV watching. My dks watch more then they should during the winter. But then again, in the summer, they can go days without watching it.
We eat fast food once a week, more if we are traveling.
I don't make my dks clean their plates before they eat dessert. I figure they know when they have had enough. My dks also aren't big veggie eaters. I don't worry about it because I didn't eat them as a kid and now I eat them all the time.
I cook seperate meals for my youngest. He has had major issues with reflux and I just don't feel like fighting with him about food.
My dks stay in their pj's all day on Sat. when we aren't going anywhere.
No one is going to kick you off the board for being honest... It isn't the honesty that is the problem.. I could go on about this but I am taking off my modertors hat and I am going to be the one that is looked at as the bad mom...
I belly slept and I co slept with ALL my children.. Oldest DD was in our bed until she was 4 full time and then we tried to switch her to her own and she fought us. So when we switched DS then 2 to his we had her sleep with him. They still ended up in our bed every now and then. I co slept with the girls also until they were 3.. They wanted a big girl bed.. They are 8 and still sleep together.. All three girls share a room. And Dillan sleeps in our room, we have it divided with a curtain and we refrain from sexual contact when he is in the house. Prefer not to be walked in on.. Don't want him to have nightmares over it... LOL We live in a three bedroom house mobile home with 7 people. It is crowded but it is so full of love that you can feel it when you walk in the house..
Ummm, I breast fed all my children but when I did decide to give them a bottle I let them have it at bed time. Always milk with water, no juices.. Saw what that does to your teeth in a few neighborhood kids, scared me to death..
DS and one of the girls took a binky until they were four. Dillan carried his in his pocket and would pull it out and pop it in. But the rest of the time it was for night time. Drove my mom nuts.. BUT she drove me nuts so OH WELL.
Didn't push diaper training. Let them lead me and they all were potty trained by 3. Which also drove my mom nuts. She thought they should be potty trained much earlier.. I told her to do it herself then..
Baths are pretty much at their own discretion now. They keep track and I just keep my nose open. DS and Oldest DD bathe every other day, every day but they are at that age..
Oh I put cereal in a bottle for DS too. He had me so sore, thought my breast should be in his mouth 24-7. I ended up switching him to formula for my own sanity because of that. I feel sorry for his wife, when he marries..
DD is 16 and dating a 19 year old. They have known each other since she was a Freshman. He is a good guy and treats her really good. And I don't care that he is an adult. I love him to death.. They aren't sexually active. But it wouldn't matter. I took my 14 year old daughter in and had her put on the patch. She is still a virgin but I don't want any surprises.. Not at 34..
I was 17 when I got pregnant and a senior in high school. Rob was 23.. We lived together 2 years before we married. And I don't regret any of it. I was a bit of a bad girl when I was in school. The stories I can tell about the things I did would really shock you, for sure... People assume so much about me.. LOL surprise..
Anyway, back to how I am a bad mom. I smoke.. I know it isn't good but I really don't think anything is good for you.. It is my choice.. Does it effect my children. Yes it does, but so doesn't fast food but that doesn't stop me from letting them eat it.
We have a couple of nights a week where everyone eats whatever they want. We still sit at the table but that is because we spend the whole meal messing with each other and everyone loves meal time so much. My kids friends love to come to dinner at my house... LOL
I cuss in front of my children but none of my kids cuss in front of me. It is just a thing they do on their own. I don't know what I would do if the older ones cussed but I don't think they would.
Oh and we all sit around talking about sex. My kids hear things and ask questions and I tell them. Depending on what it is a spare details but I tell them. They hear the truth from me or lies from school. DD boyfriend thinks we are a hoot. We will talk for hours about it.. I do not however discuss my sex life, in front of or with my children. We goof on them about it but no serious discussions. Not their business..
There is a tv in every room except the kitchen. We don't need one in there, we are entertainment enough. I do not monitor what they watch or how much. I figure I set limits they want to break them.. They actually spend more time in the living room than in their bedrooms.. We are a fun house like that..
We do not have a lot of pop in the house. We buy it for special things and that is it. My kids would like more but I want a new house too..
They are not limited on whatever else they want to drink..
I ask my kids to take a bite of whatever I make. I know that my taste buds changed so much as a child, I don't want them to miss out on any of the good stuff.. DS just started eating raw veggies this year.. Actually eating them not just a nibble.
I don't harp on my kids about their bedrooms or making their beds. I will just say something on a Saturday about it getting out of hand and they get right on it.
None of us get dressed on the weekends if we aren't leaving the house. I actually will throw on PJ pants at 4 in the afternoon if I don't have any plans.. Comfy is the best policy in my house.
We yell at each other all the time. People think we are really fighting some times but most of the time we are messing around... It isn't nothing for my kids to yell at me and then run up and hug me. We laugh all the time.. we are constantly messing around. We very seldom argue and I very seldom punish my children. I talk to them and it has worked most of the time. I have spanked all my children and I will spank all of them again if the need so arises. But it hasn't and the way our relationships are now, I don't know that it will. But with kids you can't say never.
I am very matter of fact with my children and I tell them how it is. It is just to bad the real world isn't more like that though. I don't leave them guessing and they appreciate it.
I have done everything in my parenting by the seat of my pants. I tried reading a book when I was pregnant with oldest DD and I discovered the man that wrote it didn't even have children and I decided that I was better off not letting someone else tell me how to do any of this. My instincts must be okay because they are all very happy and healthy and they prefer to be home more than any where else..
I said this in another post and I stand by it... When it is all over, only YOU will answer to your child.. No book can teach you how to raise your child.. because no child is the same. and your child isn't going to blame the guy that wrote it..
I have more... I know I do.. If they come to mind I will be back..
My hat is back on for a moment.....
And Jackie, I wanted to give you a hug.. I think you got the whole idea of my, we are our own worst critics speech.. this was a good way to even the playing field a little bit...
Love this - helps alleviate Mother's guilt! My 27mo ds watches more TV than he should - at least it is always PBS or Noggin. I'm not sure I could completely entertain him the 13 hours a day he is awake. How does mom clean or relax for a minute? Always feel guilty about too much TV.
Let's see:
Today he had a cookie from the grocery store (free one) at 8:30am. Another one after dinner, and a few animal crackers after lunch. He is slim, but will be addicted soon!
He jumps on his bed
He eats breakfast while playing in the family room watching PBS (oatmeal squares, banana, milk) - this is when I do the bills, etc.
We watch Price is Right every day M-F while eating lunch - uh, we are at the table, and he is really learning his numbers... you should hear him "one dollar bob" "$5.99", "come on down" - we have a good ol' time.
Not a veggie eater - I offer a few times a week - but he rarely accepts - yes to fruit though!
OH, and he watches heavy metal videos with my dh - Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Queensryche. It is actually very cute to hear my 27 mo singing "Lay Your Hands On Me, Lay your hands..." or "Breakin' the law, breakin' the law..." I am ok as long as the videos don't have scary images or foul language... glink!
OH man, I don't feel so bad about my kids being tummy-sleepers now! LOL! Emily would cry, when she was on her back in the carseat, but take her in the house, lay her down on her tummy, she would find her thumb and be out like a light!
Kids don't have tv's, but their is a PC in Sarah's room. I know what my kids do on the PC and I do check Sarah's message boards now and then, but it's nothing I'm scared about. We even met one of her online friends, over the summer, when we were on vacation and she was who she said she was. (Kelsey's mom was with her and we were with Sarah. We had talked on the phone, before the trip.)
Funny some of the rules that I feel like I break revolve around being too strict
I potty train my children young. I start at a year and make it lots of fun, and low stress. At around 18 months i realized dd was fully trained.
I also introduced sippy cups at 2 months (when I started them on juice). two of the three kids really prefered cups to bottles and we were finished at about 9 months with bottles.
I don't let babies cry, ever. I hardly let their feet touch the ground till they are 4-5 months old. I always had to listen to the, you're spoiling them, slowing down gross motor etc. When my middle kid got up and walked at 8 1/2 months the inlaws shut up
I don't worry about food, we eat when we are hungry and what we want to eat. All my kids are good eaters of some healthy foods (although it is different for each one..lol). I let them eat what we ate from the time they had solids. My kids eat a huge variety now. And we have poptarts for breakfast every morning!
I don't make my kids drink milk. I figure we get plenty of calcium in brocilli, cheese and yogurt.
I don't do a bed time routine. My kids all shower, dress, etc, then come and tell me good night, i dont' go tuck them in. We say am prayers and read during the day. At 9 o'clock i become not a nice person.
also, my kids are the worst about doing homework over breakfast (at least the poptarts don't ruin papers..lol).
Sometimes my kids would be too tired to finish their homework in the evening. I would tell them to go to bed and finish it in the morning. Sometimes, it was amazing to me how quickly that little bit of homework would get done in the morning, with a clear head, compared to the tired head the night before! They would be amazed, too. Usually they just couldn't get something, when they were tired and it would be so easy in the morning!
1. Well my 7 year old knows the McD's theme song by heart.
2. They drink way to much pop. But so did I as a kid.
3. They watch to much tv and play lots of video games.
4. They eat there breakfast in the living room watching cartoons in the morning.
5. Once in awhile they have junk food for breakfast (on weekends).
6. I didn't do the whole co-sleep thing only because it was not for me. I may have been more strict the other way. In less they are sick they know where there bed is. I did sleep in my son's bunk for a little while this weekend because he was gone. Dd was scared but she knew I would not stay all night.
I am sure there are a million other things. My dk's have a grandma living with them so they get spoiled to much.
Im glad everybody is having fun with this. I think it takes pressure off of us as moms to see what others do.
After reading through these, I forgot some stuff.
I let all the babies sleep on their tummies as well, they slept alot longer that way.
I breastfed my last 2 children(Still breastfeeding Faith)but they both had bottles from day one. Im sorry, Im a bad mother because I couldnt endure the pain of those beginning nursing sessions at the start, so I would switch off with bottles.
Im also not strict with bedtime. Sure they kids have a "general" time they are to be in bed. BUT, I dont stress if we are 10 or 20 mintues late putting them to bed.Now my husband, on the other hand, likes them in bed exactly at the right time LOL
My older kids stayed in their cribs until 3 yrs old. I figured they werent climbing out,w hy push a good thing. Hopefully Faith will follow the same way.
Ive been known to throw some toys away if I cant find all the pieces(instead of looking for them)...drives my husband crazy, but we have way too many toys.
SOmetimes I purposely leave the Happy Meal toys on the floor when cleaning, so the dogs chew them and I have an excuse to throw them away.
HEY - I made the rules for raising my kids, so I didn't break any rules, I just re-wrote them.
You know how we arsuppose too support teachers and back them up???
Well, Brad got detention yesterday and had to be at school at 7am this morning. He was running thru the hall at school and then slid on his knees... He has never been in trouble to speak of and certainly never have to get on to him more than once. I was mad some teacher that he didnt even know gave him detention and I told him this morning that I thought she was ridiculous. Told him I thought getting detention for that was stupid and maybe she was just having a bad day... lol All she had to do was say 'Young man we dont do that, I dont want to see that again.' And he wouldnt do it anymore.... agh!!
My dh was laughing and asking him if he was playing his air guitar and doing the *Ricky Business* dance. LOL
Brad said he didnt think he'd be doing that again. ;)
Another rule broken... Bad Mom...
Conni, that sounds like a harsh punishment, when they could have just talked to him. I think it's funny that you all thought it was funny and I think he really won't be doing it again.
Oh, Conni. I do that, too. I've always taught the boys that their teachers are human, too (GASP!!!) and they can make mistakes. I also teach them that even though we may not always agree with those in authority over us, we do always have to respect them. Not always easy. (Can think of a former president to make that case!)
Oh, I broke a big one today My 10 year old woke up sick, not really sick, but honestly didn't look 100%. Stuff has been going around, he adores school, it isn't like him to fake being sick. Well, by noon I realized he was probably fine. Today is his choir concert. They have practice after school. So I took him to practice and will let him go to the concert. OOPS! I mentioned it to the music teacher.
Ya know you have to go with those gut feelings. It was his first day missed this year (which is AMAZING!)
Oh, Conni. I agree. Sometimes you just have to side with your child. My DS kindergarten teacher was a complete loser. We told DS he had to respect her but not like her. He knew we didn't like her at all.
Once when we were at Wal-Mart I saw her coming at us. I grabbed both kids and ditched my cart just so we could hide behide a display of oranges. I didn't want to see her at all. Great way to lead by example ;)
Emily didn't care for her 5th grade teacher. I think if we saw her coming at Walmart, we would run down a different aisle, too! LOL!
I let the kids sleep in my bed when there dad is gone. They both have tv's in their rooms and they are supposed to have them turned off by 8 but they never are. I always tell the kids that they are not to lie but have been caught telling a white lie to cover up something like "why we couldn't go to so and so's house because I had to "work" or we had "other plans" when in reality dh worked with the husband and couldn't stand him or their monster child. I told the wife we couldn't go because I had to work and ds blurted out "no you don't!".
Forgot - cereal in the bottle at 9 weeks.
Ame, Kate, and Amy...you guys have me in stitches! The first words being French Fries, $1 for bribery and the Price is Right! ROFLMAO!!!
Hmmm...looks like I have a long road ahead of me! :-)
1. Don't always brush his teeth at night. We miss probably once a week.
2. I haven't really pushed the idea of utensils. If this kid would NEED them, I would. aaaahhhh... I give them to him and he just plays with them.
3. This kid doesn't eat meat, pasta, or anything gooey. I think it's my fault. I'm such a clean freak and didn't introduce messy foods as often as I should. He ate spaghetti at 10 months but now...NOPE! 
4. I let him pick the cereal that he drops on the carpet and eat it sometimes. I'm not going to sprint across the room to make him spit it out. I'm just not that fast! (Thank God I'm a clean freak, huh?)
5. I let him eat (graze) all day. Anything to get him to eat!
6. We have to put him in front of a DVD/TV with an, albeit educational, Fisher Price movie so we can nebulize him while he eats and watches the DVD. No wonder he has no idea how to use a spoon or fork.
7. I stopped BF/pumping because I just plain needed more sleep. I thought I was seriously going insane when DS was 3 months old. So, we did half/half for a while.
8. I got yelled at by our local librarian for letting my son learn how to walk (as I was helping him) in the library with only socks on. She said, "You know, we don't recommend you let your son walk in public places without shoes!" Gimme a break lady. I want to get out of the house, you moron. Besides, we're having fun!
No fast food here (DH and I *rarely* eat out or eat fast food). And, I hope to keep the "no tv" rule.
This is so great I love to see that I'm not the only "we broke a rule" out there
1- My kids watch, what I would consider, too much TV
2- We eat fast food at least once a week. Usually more for my DS, because he's always on errands with my while DD is at school. I do order him apple dippers instead of fries though!
3- Sometimes we skip bath time. We just don't have enough time in one day, so sometimes we skip a day.
4- Sometimes I let my kids have donuts for breakfast.
5- Last night my 6 year old slept on our floor because she was scared.
6- My DS gets away with way too much. He always looks at me and says "you my sweetheart", and that generally gets him what he wants.
I better stop now, LoL
Jackie, this thread is like a Christmas present to me! I didn't realize how much guilt I've been carting around. I just presumed I was the only mom who should be in mommy jail!
Thank you, thank you!
I agree completely Nicki!!
Thanks!!
My kids hardly ever got a bath every night! I never thought they were all that dirty anyway. If we went swimming at the local swimming hole, with the sand beach, then they for sure got a bath when we were done and certainly got more baths in the summer, but not everyday on a normal basis.
I don't shower everyday in the winter. My skin would dry out too much. Even every other day is pushing it. I use so much lotion in the winter!
Sarah ate spaghetti and meatballs, when she was about 8 months old. I cut everything up real small. She loved it! Then tried feeding her a tomato/beef/noodle mixture from a baby food jar and she wouldn't even put her tongue in her mouth. She was like, "REMOVE THAT PLEASE!" I think that was the last baby food jar I bought. We just fed her table food, from then on!
Emily was a lot harder to get onto food. She kept throwing up. I would try about once a week. Eventually, she could tolerate it and eats fine now!
If there is a big book of mommy rules, I've probably broken at least half. But so far, dd is a healthy (except for the asthma) well-adjusted, happy almost 5 year old.
The rule I broke that I caught the most flack for is letting her have her bottle until she was 23 months old!!!! Bad mommy!!!! But she's almost 5 and has never had a cavity and the dentist says her teeth are beautiful.
And the thing I've found about these rules is that they change every few years. LOL!!!!
Ah yes, the cereal in the bottle. I did that as well. Ds ate mashed potatoes at about 2-3 weeks old, thanks to my mil. And he was given a chunk of steak to suck on at sizzler at about 5 weeks by my gma's dh. We didn't do anything by the book with either kid.
And yes Jackie, this is a really good post!
I think that a lot of our ladies have sat around assuming that if they were themselves and admitted they weren't perfect that they would be judged. All these things don't make us bad mom's, they make us human.. I think Jackie did a wonderful thing for this board. And I think we would all do good to keep in mind this thread.. And I think threads like this would do a lot of good for connecting the members... Instead of everyone feeling like they are outside the loop, they will realize the loop is huge and no one is outside of it... All opinions count.. (as long as you play nice.. LOL)
Other than baby fruits and veggies I skipped baby food all together.. The kids started getting fruit at about 5 months, against DR orders. And by 8 months they were completely eating regular food. I fed them as they wanted fed, I didn't have set meal times, except for super to which if all they did was play with the food I didn't care.. It meant peace for the 15 to 30 minutes it took them to get tired of playing with the food..
DD was two when DS was born. I was sleep deprived. I would get a bowl of dry cereal ready and a sippy of juice poured and in the fridge the night before. She would get her own breakfast in the mornings. I would get up and move to the couch and cat nap while she watched cartoons until DS woke up. I would have never made it through the first couple of months any other way.
I do not get up with or wake my older children for school. They get themselves up and ready then they wake me up. They both like to have quiet while they are getting ready. It lets them do things at their own speed. And no one has ever missed the bus or been late for school.
My children dress in fashionable clothing. Their friends assume we have money. I shop clearance.. I will go to the mall once a week and search the clearance racks. I might get one shirt or I might end up with nothing. I also shop the Good Will and Salvation Army. Those two places I also head off to about once a week and I search the racks, some times it takes hours. Drives DH nuts. But the kids have always been dressed in "style" do to these efforts. This is something that comes from my childhood but I won't get into that on here..
There is more I am sure...
I haven't broken my own rules for the simple reason that i never had any... but i break "good parenting" rules all the time.
For a start my son goes to bed at the continental (when the British talk about the rest of Europe, they call it "continental" as i they were from another continent) time, that is quite late (9 or 10, sometimes later). He still wakes up fresh in the morning though.
I fed him only breast milk until he was 6 months because i couldn't be bothered to cook. Now he is a fussy eater but we are working on that. He doesn't eat as much vegetables as he should.
I did as Bobbie (and still do sometimes) when he wakes up i go to his bedroom and lay next to him while he watches a dvd (he has a tv in his room just because we onlyhave one bedroom and his used to be living room), honestly, i can't start my day as early as 6.30 am, i just can't function.
We argue in front of him, but then we make up almost instantly with a laugh and a kiss, so ds knows is not such a big deal. We have also smacked him and shouted and him, but then again, what can you expect from an Italian and a Mexican? He is more polite than some of his friends, and he is a happy, loved and cofindent boy and he shows it.
I know there are lots more...
Hmmm, gee....DD slept with us until the age of 4 1/2! Mason slept on my DH's chest last night and then right next to me nursing...Aghh, the list is too long!
On a bad day, I plop DD down and let her watch as much tv as she wants. Mommy needs a break sometimes!
I too don't worry about her eating habits. As long as she has good table manners, I don't care. We buy healthy snacks and she can fix herself something later if she wants.
Too little time to name them all...
Bobbie, I am definitely one who feels if I am myself and admit my imperfections, I will be judged. But I can honestly say I don't feel that way here at MV! In my case, I am rather isolated being a SAHM, and the people I see the most of these days is my MIL, her sister and my husband's grandmother. Yep, as you can imagine I get a lot of feedback on my parenting, and it is seldom good! In fact I have told my husband, that this is the first job I've taken on where I get so much negative messages coming my way. It really gets me down sometimes.
So, just speaking for myself, that's why I love all of you! When I feel overwhelmed by the negative, I come here and post, and all of you make me feel better. And, in turn, I really feel I'm a better parent because of MV. This is really a good place.
Can I just say all of them?
I guess I really AM the meanest mom ever!
I don't believe in parenting rules just hopefully common sense...
Pam, does that mean you don't break any of the rules???
Well, surely I break *some* rules, but I guess I adhere to the biggies. For example, bedtimes, mealtimes, chores, etc. We certainly aren't the von Trapp family as far as rigid rules or anything, but we do have routines and expectations. Now some "rules" that we do break--cake for breakfast on occasion, eat dessert first nights, attending a midnight movie premiere on a school night, if our children have more homework than they can get done in an hour of diligent work, then they don't have to do it (hasn't happened yet). I think we are lots of fun and very spontaneous, but some of the big stuff is pretty non-negotiable at our house. So, I feel like a meany!
Oops, I kept forgetting a biggie that Ive broke. I gave the baby Benadryl to help learn to sleep(per drs orders of course LOL)..Has her sleeping gotten better? Well I would say 5 out of 7 nights she sleeps all night, from 9-6am. Not 12 hrs like most kids her age, but its straight sleep. The other nights she wakes only once, and is back to sleep in less then 5 minutes, instead of being up for 2 hrs at a pop.
Pam I'm with you! I have set "rules" that I stick to including chores, homework, bedtime and meals. I do have to admit that dinner is the only one I really worry about on holidays. The rest of our holidays we just eat whatever whenever LOL! School days they have to eat something in the morning even if it's only a poptart! lol
We have a ton of fun but I'm not willing to negotiate on the things I consider big things.
They do play too many video games sometimes, don't take baths everyday, sometimes not even ever couple of days lol
We co slept, ate real food at a young age, all of the ones above. I didn't start being as "rigid" until they were past the "baby" stage.
After 4 kids, I probably broke most of them. There were certain *big* rules that I stuck to pretty much no matter what, but I was a *go with the flow* type of parent, so I'm sure I broke a lot of rules.
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