Being A Parent In Today’s World

Being a parent is one of the most important jobs in the world today, if not the most. It amazed me whenever I had my first son, Cory at age 19, that they left us take him home from the hospital. I was like, you’re really letting him go with us? You sure you don’t want to send a nurse along with us? We were clueless as to what to do with him. I mean basic parenting instincts took over and we did a great job, at least I think that we did. To be truthful, Tammy was a natural and she deserves all the credit for how our kids are turning out. If you read my post about blue balls, you’re probably a little suspicious of our skills, but you can’t let one little magic marker set the tone for the whole upbringing!

I think that the majority of us just do what our parents did when it comes to raising our kids, although that may not be the best idea! No matter what style you use, in the end you just need to make them feel important and know that they are loved. In my house Tammy is definitely the nurturer and I am the disciplinarian, although Tammy is no pushover either. She can be pretty tough at times too.

I think together we learn from each other and find a balance between the both of us. This seems to be the way we are in most things in our life, whether it is relationships, our business, money, or our children. I think that it works best that way. All relationships should be give and take, whether its between spouses or a parent/child relationship. If one is always the enforcer and tries to lay down the law, it will get old real fast with everyone involved. It’s kind of like a boss that yells or ridicules all the time. He may get his way at first, but that never works for the long haul.

As I raise my three boys, I want them to know the difference between right and wrong, but I don’t want them to be afraid of me. A healthy respect is good, but I always want them to know that I will be there for them no matter what they do. I think one of the reasons that kids get distant from their parents as they hit their teenage years, is because they feel alone. They feel that they can’t talk to their parents or that they will get in trouble if the parent finds out what they did wrong. We all screwed up as kids and if we are honest, we know that we still screw up as adults. I let the kids know that it’s not a free pass to be a hoodlum, but it’s not the end of the world if they do something wrong either.

If you form a bond with your kids and set the bar high for them in a way that they want to reach it because they respect you, not because they are afraid, they should be fine. I remember as a kid, I never wanted to get in trouble because I didn’t want to let my dad down. I had the chance, as all kids do, to take drugs and do many other bad things. I never went to extremes with any of it. I was a kid, but all in all, a pretty good kid. I loved my parents and wanted to make them proud. I hope for the same from each of my kids.

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