Your Parenting Questions Answered - Part 1

Ya right - wouldn't that be nice if all the answers to parenting were neatly compiled in a nice little blog post??  While I do think we have insight to share, I in no way claim to have all the answers.  But hopefully I can share some things that have worked for us, and you guys can share some things that have worked for you.  We are all in different parenting stages, and should be building eachother up, not tearing eachother down.  We are starting a whole new phase with our girls - read on...

We now have an occasionally overdramatic 13 year old daughter - whose most recent meltdown was the result of someone eating a very specific piece of her halloween candy.  And we have a mostly moody 10 year old daughter, who gives you attitude for everything and fights you every step of the way.  Needless to say, some days I feel like tying them both to a chair and locking them in a closet giving them all the extra love and attention they need.  :)

One thing I know is key - and that is consistency in our parenting.  Just because someone may have eaten a piece of their candy doesn't give them permission to act poorly.  There are always consequences for their actions.  Are we perfect in that disciplinary area?  Absolutely not - And the fact that we have 2 very different daughters doesn't make that any easier.  What works for one rarely works for the other.  And as they get older it gets harder to come up with creative, appropriate forms of discipline.  Sometimes I wish there was a magic manual - just say what the problem is and out pops an answer.  I wonder if SIRI has any experience with pre-teen/teen discipline? :)

In the end, I know it will all be worth it.  We are doing our very best to raise our daughters to be responsible, contributing members of society.  We try to work hard at whatever we are doing, whether its our jobs, church, housework etc.  We want our kids to see that hard work pays off and that it is important to do your best.  And we are starting to reap the benefits of sowing those seeds.  Both of our daughters volunteer at our church every weekend.  They enjoy it and give their very best.  It's not something we forced on them.  It makes my heart happy when other adults tell me how much they love my girls and what great helpers they are.  We believe in training our girls everyday and preparing them for their eventual departure from us - which when you stop to think about it, isn't really all that far away.  Which is bittersweet - but that is another blogpost altogether.

Now if I could just figure out the secret formula to get them to clean their rooms - on their own...  oh well, you win some, you lose some - right?

I would like to do a series of parenting posts.  Something that has actually been on my heart and mind for quite some time.  Not because I am the world's best parent, but because I'm not.  And I'm learning everyday how to do right by my girls.  Would love to hear about your parenting wins and losses - leave me a message below...

See you soon

-M