Parenting Tips Volume 1

I've always taken my Titus 2 responsibilities for mentoring younger women, especially younger mothers, very seriously and let's face it, EVERYONE is younger than me. So when younger mothers asked me, which was surprisingly often, what I did to have 2 such well-behaved and wonderful children, I used to reply very honestly.

'Well, this is what I did:
I breastfed them until they weaned themselves. (Age 2 3/4 for Grace and almost age 4 for Jack.)
We let them sleep with us until they wanted a bed of their own. (4th birthday, for each of them, coincidentally.)
I homeschooled them.
And I never smacked them.'

I would deliver this sermon earnestly and with a genuine desire to assist my friends.

At this point, women who had been sitting on the edge of my sofa, anxiously awaiting my reply so they could immediately follow my example and transform the behaviour and characters of their own children would be staring at me, eyes goggling, mouths hanging open for a few seconds before coming to and muttering polite niceties, as they scrambled to leave. Which I always translated as meaning,

'You MUST be joking!'
'Well, I want great kids like yours, but not if I have to do all that!' and
'We thought you were going to tell us to hit them with a wooden spoon, for goodness sake!'

So, now my kids are both teenagers, when people ask me what's my Secret, I tell them other things. Simpler strategies. And incidents like the following that illustrate my current parenting style.

This morning, Jack was pleading for a haircut, which we can't afford right now, not until next payday. (It's many years since he has allowed *me* to use scissors on his hair.) So, I patiently explained the money situation again and suggested a change from the usual Mohican which he resorts too when he feels his hair is too long.

I crafted a sort of curled up double mohican which looked like he had devil's horns, comme ca.



'Mum, it's Sunday! I'm not going to church this morning with Devil's Horns!'
'Why not? It'll look wikkid!'
(laughing) 'Yes, as if I am going to take advice from you about hair, like you're a walking fashion excyclopedia!'
'Ex-cyclopedia? You mean I used to be an En-cyclopedia but I'm not any more?'

Realising he'd made a mistake with the word, my son was now lying on his back on the floor laughing hysterically.This is what we do in our family when we are embarrassed. The last thing on his mind now was his hair.

Did you observe how I, skillfully but tactfully, managed my son's tricky personal grooming problem, whilst at the same time expanding correct vocabulary?

Watch and learn, mums! Watch and learn.