Five Reasons You Might Think I'm A Mean Parent

I know not every parent has to agree on how best to parent. There are some things I do with my children when explained that get a few head shakes, but they work for us. So here are a five reasons that you might think I’m a mean parent.

I Don’t Film Every School Concert or Play

I admit to having had a laugh or two at the expense of the parents who jostle and bump each other in order to get a good picture or video of little Susie singing in the school choir with 75 other children. Even though little Susie looks mortified and doesn’t open her mouth the entire time the choir sings. I am sure that someday little Susie is really going to enjoy that video…

I just don’t do this with my kids. Sure I snap photos and may try and catch on film any solos or special parts they may have, but I imagine that my kids will not want to sit and watch hours of school video montages in which they are only featured a handful of times.

I Don’t Buy School Photos. EVER

With three school aged children, school photos these days are super expensive. Not to mention that they almost always turn out crappy. I loved the year the photographer took the picture of one of my children with their eyes closed and didn’t notice that my child was also falling out of the chair, but that didn’t matter because the photographer still happily snapped away that picture. That was a keeper photo for sure….

What I do instead is make sure to purchase the yearbook so that my children can have a keepsake from that year and of all of their friends, plus whatever picture the school photographer ended up taking of them. Hopefully it was a semi-decent one!

I also make an investment every year of good family photos with a professional photographer that catches timeless moments like this.

I Don’t Pay My Kids An Allowance

I believe kids should contribute to the running of the household. With the expectation that they do chores within the house that are age appropriate. I don’t think they should get money for doing this. I pay for all of their food, clothes, activities and more. To my thinking that is enough.

I will however allow my children to do extra chores for which they can earn money to save towards special purchases they would like to make.

I Don’t Deal With Fighting Children

There is enough junk that we all have to deal with outside of our home. I don’t want to bring any of that back to our home. Sure there are disagreements and upset feelings, but we talk about it and resolve it without screaming, yelling or slamming of doors. My husband and I have told the children that slamming their door will result in them no longer having a door to their rooms.

I expect my children to be respectful and kind to one another and to support each other, because I want our home to be a safe place where we can be who we are and be loved for who we are.

I Don’t Buy My Kids Every Thing They Ask For

My children have everything they need, but not everything they want. And I am OK with that as I don’t want them to get caught up with owning “things”. Because things are just things and not really the way to ensure lasting happiness.