whether this post was sincere or not, it's certainly true in a lot of cases. i don't expect parents with bad kids to chime in with their horror stories but we all know parenting isn't all roses. i just wish people wouldn't sugar coat it so much. it's one of the main reasons why i don't want to have kids. frankly, i don't know how parents do it. i've got a lot of respect for you who truly enjoy parenting. i love spending 2-3 hours with my sisters' kids but that's it. friends always say that i would be a great father. but how would they know? regardless of how i raise a child, he/she could turn out to be a crack slinging gang banger or drug addict. it's something that scares the hell out of me.
My twin boys just turned 5 months this week. They held down solid food for the first time last night. That's all I got right now. Ask me again in a few years.
My 7yo daughter wants to be a geologist. After my 4yo son invited a table-full of older girls to have a sleepover to play with all his toys, he promptly fell backward from his tipped=back chair.
Just yesterday, my wife and I toured the elementary school where my daughter will probably start kindergarten next year. I'm going to be a wreck on her first day of school.
With you. My daughter starts kindergarten this fall. Crazy how time passes by. My son is future linebacker. Just two and a half but weighs as much as a typical four yr old; everything he touches he destroys.
My oldest just turned 20 this week. He is still doing well in college (not like his dad who walked out his first year with a 0.9) - full time - maintaining all his scholarships for a full ride (and then some) while working 30 hours a week and pays for his own apt. He just informed me this week that he wants to go for his Masters. He's become more friendly now that he's moved out and our relationship is better than it's been in a very long time. He, his smoking hot gf and an ex-baseball teammate all share a 2 bd...I'm not sure if they have bunks or who's sleeping on the couch...that's what I keep telling myself. He also informed me that he's going to keep his "partying" to just the weekends. Not my ideal choices for him but I stopped raising the perfect child long ago and I'm still proud to call him my son. My middle son is finishing his HS senior year. He's a very good XC runner. Always does well at state and has college coaches calling, texting, emailing him upping the amounts as each month passes. Yes this is the same son that got busted for possession of para last summer but he's backing off that...at least for now (0-2). He's probably going to pass on the running scholarships because he's had 1 college on the top of his list for a long time. He was accepted by that college recently and they offered him a nice scholarship. In spite of his "record", he's still a keeper. My daughter is turning 16 soon. I've been starting the car shopping process for her. She's a cheerleader for her HS and a competition team (a very good level 4 team). But this cheerleading thing reeeaalllyyy has me watching her. Please don't let me go 0-3. So far she's been very good and told me situations she's walked out of or asks me to make up a reason she can't go somewhere because of what is going on. I know she's not perfect either (she likes country music for 1) but she will always be my Baby Girl.
Going to pick up my son in about an hour for his weekly visit. He just turned 3 and is doing really well. I am so proud of him - he already can read on a kindergarten level; he's that smart.
My five year old daughter skied on a blue slope for the first time at Lake Louise last weekend. She's turning into my little ski buddy.
If this is sincere, the I can tell you a few things from my own life. 1) You're not alone. Children grow up and many times change from the sweet little boy/girl and turn into a child we don't recognize. I could write a book on my oldest son and myself. His list of doing wrong and my list of handling wrong are pretty close to equal. You do the best you can or know how but sometimes children throw you into a world you never planned on living in...not in your wildest dreams. 2) Love. That is the hardest thing to do right now. You will have to dig deep sometimes...sometimes just take a breath and walk a way for a moment after they have pushed your last button. And even though you may not love their actions or behavior, you love the person. It's separate and it's hard but it's necessary to reach back out to them. And I'm not talking about being their best friend - you are still their mom/dad. You must remain calm even when you want to blow. Guide them the best you can. Admit you own faults. Let them know that you are human. That doesn't mean air all your dirty laundry but give them something to relate back to you on so they know this isn't just another lecture from above. And that doesn't mean give them a stack of Get Out of Jail Free cards (no offence OP) but let them know beforehand of the consequences calmly. And let them know when they've done well and expect nothing in return. Find their Love language. Not everyone feels love the same way. http://www.5lovelanguages.com/learn-the-languages/the-five-love-languages/ Hang in there and never give up. Not all children are perfect in spite of our efforts to raise them that way.
My son and daughter entered a short documentary film contest at Duke University: 3 words/30 seconds. They won first prize. He did the camera work and editing; she did the puppeteering with a gag Christmas gift given to her by one of her friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXQgyR3F8NI
OK, I'll brag. 8th Grade daughter: Highest score in the state (it is OR though) on verbal standardized test. Highest score in state on writing standardized test. Reading at the college graduate level. 4.0. Taking Algebra in 8th grade (I struggled in 11th). Founder of Debate and Art clubs, Captain of the Research Scavenger Hunt Team, and Editor of the yearbook. Winner of poetry contest. Top award for persuasive speech in her grade. Leading scorer, rebounder and team captain of BBall team, cross country, practiced with varsity water polo team last two years and will likely start at goalie next year as a Freshman. Wants to break the school discus record this year during track season. Teaching herself Japanese and neuroscience. Reads Shakespeare for fun (really). Watches Colbert (not Stewart), loves Dragonball Z, is exceptional at those Wii dance games, loves going to summer camps. Wants a water polo scholarship to Cal or Stanford to study neuroscience. 4th Grade daughter. Battling a speech problem (really an auditory processing issue) since she was little, but our therapist recently told her she didn't need to have speech therapy anymore, so that was a huge day for us. She wants to be an artist, is scary smart in the realm of interpersonal relations (can't fool her at all), and loves riding horses and playing with puppies. She won the leadership award for her class before Christmas and is quickly pushing her reading levels up. Plays a lot of Poptropica on my PC. She's going to be a lot of fun to parent the next few years.
