Results tagged “saying” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

I think we can all agree that nothing builds a summer home for a therapist faster than favoring one child over another......

We have a family friend (let's call her Sara for now) whom we've known for years.  Our parents are friends therefore we see them at holidays and so forth.  She's definitely not a member of my Brooklyn Momtourage.  Let me make that very clear.  Last year, much to our dismay, she, her petulant husband and her two children moved three miles from us in Brooklyn. 

Sara most definitely favors her younger child and caters to that child to the detriment of all others and most importantly the older sibling.  It borders on co-dependency.  It so happens the catered-to child is a male.....who is much like her husband whom she caters to on an outrageous level as well....in fact it's Lifetime Movie Of The Week, forget-the-women's-liberation-movement, can-I-cut-your-meat-for-you??, I'm-not-really-hurt-it's-just-a-little-blood catering status.  The older, much ignored sibling is a sweet, considerate, little girl. 

This has been a topic of discussion for years because we spend every Hanukah/Christmas with them and god forbid the older child receives one gift more than the younger, the younger will throw a fit and the older child will have to give the gift back to Sara who then gives it to charity.  Sara merely has to say to her daughter, "Hand it over you're upsetting your brother," and the girl relinquishes the gift....always to the shock and amazement of everyone.  We all chime in with our annual, "What?!  Are you kidding me?"  But she ignores us.  And when her son throws these fits I don't know who I want to smack more him or her. 

The next time your child needs disciplining forget time outs, the naughty chair, loss of privelages and spanking.  How about taking them on a trip to the cemetary to visit Santa??!! 

I don't know where my friend gets these photos.  She's a mother of 5 girls ranging in ages from 2 to 19.  I imagine when one has that many children that psychological torture is something one would rely on from time to time.

OMG!  This is by far the worst news story I've heard this morning.  Forget the collapse of the housing market and Hillary's delegate count......a 3 year old hasn't slept since birth.  Kill me already.  And I complain because Lily hasn't napped since she was 18 months old?  I'm starting to feel guilty.  God help those parents.  I recommend Benadryl.  Benadryl is like Cialis for parents.  Millions of kids in this country think they have allergies.  No way baby.  Your parents just need you to sleep.  (Turns out this child actually has a neurological problem, see the link above.)

Does your kid sleep?  Did you have a baby that just didn't need sleep?  Go ahead brag if you must.  I love hearing about children who actually sleep.

My husband and I are friends with another married couple who also have a 5 year old - Samuel. They're really good friends and we always look forward to get togethers. Our husbands get along, our kids do, we do too. We take holidays together on the Cape every summer. Sounds perfect right? It was.....(dramatic music - dum, dum, dum)....till their son started hitting our daughter.

This started about 6 months ago. Admittedly, boys play very differently than girls. From what I've observed in the playground and from my own nephew experiences: boys think nothing of hitting; they actually seem to enjoy it; nor do they appear to hold grudges when they've been hit; they're just a different species. Girls are a very different matter altogether. They rarely hit and god forbid they do get hit they will remind you of the 'incident' for years to come: the time it happened; the day; what they were wearing; what they were feeling at the moment, etc....you get the picture.

Parents need discipline to say no to their children.

An irritated father complained to his golf buddy. "When I was a kid, my parents sent me to my room without supper if I misbehaved. But my son has his own color TV, telephone, computer, and CD player in his room!"

"So how do you handle it?" his friend asked.

"I send him to MY room!"

I spent a very frustrating afternoon with Lily and her playdate yesterday it was definitely a double-shot-of-vodka-day. The playmate, Andrew, was a right little so and so who terrorized my child, my last nerve and my living room. Listen, I'm a parent too, I'm not sancti-mommy, Lily tests me as well - they all do - and I know some things are easier said than done. But most importantly, I know and common sense tells me that giving in to a child all the time and not setting limits is setting us all up for disaster.

Andrew, bless his heart, did things like: from the top of the stairs throw down a clump of blocks which flew in every direction possible; when told to clean up the mess he screamed "NO!" at the top of his lungs (funnily enough he doesn't have a problem using the word); he didn't interact with Lily he merely teased her; he screamed in her face the phrase, "You don't have to tell me that twice!" so many times that he proved that he didn't know what he was saying; he was rude; he was crude - he peed all over my toilet (I hate men more every day); and he screamed in his mother's face "You be quiet now!" I know, kill me already.

All it took was an ad in The Des Moines Register for one mom to become the "meanest mom on the planet."

After finding alcohol in her 19-year-old son's car, Jane Hambleton decided to sell the car via a detailed newspaper ad that read: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

CNN quotes Hambleton saying, "It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict. You're real overboard, lady.'"

Take this quiz to find out what kind of parent you are. Do you have trouble saying "no" to your kids or are you a mean mommy?

Did this mom take it too far or was she justified in her discipline tactics? What's the craziest thing you've done to teach your kid a lesson?

-Allison Busacca, Assistant Producer of Pregnancy and Parenting

I know everyone feels guilted and pressured into feeling the need give their kids everything and provide them with every gadget that makes their lives so bloody easy that they're thoroughly unprepared for the world anymore but for god's sake if you really want to help your kids try saying no to them once in a while. Try preparing them for the real world by giving them a healthy dose of disappointment every now and then....this way they'll learn to live a life of lowered expectations and they'll ultimately be much happier.

I actually met a mother this summer who is so afraid to use the word no to her child that she lets her run wild wherever she is.....even in parking lots. "I don't like to say the word no to her because I don't want to hamper her creativity. She could be an artist you know."

"Oh really? I think little Picasso was just hit by a car."

I hate being mean mommy but today I earned that badge of distinction. Lily had a friend over for a play date. Normally, I love her friend Kate but today was a different story.

Kate is recovering from a cold and you know how that goes: she was well enough to play but still cranky and difficult. I told her mum that maybe she (Kate) needed to go home and rest because she didn't appear to be enjoying herself. (When I feel sick I like to relax too.) She reassured me that Kate was fine and that she had missed Lily so much and was so looking forward to the play date that she didn't want to take her home yet.

Well, Kate continued to scream "NO!" at her mum and Lily every chance she got and proceeded to throw every toy/thing she could get her hands on on the floor. The living room was officially renamed ground zero. The poor kid looked frazzled. By 4:30 I had had enough of the tantrums and so had Lily who had formally relinquished herself to the confines of her bedroom. Lily literally announced to us that she was going to her room to take a nap! What?! It must of have been bad 'cause Lily hasn't taken a nap since she was 15 months old.