Parenting in America

I’ve always felt that it is a mistake to call the birth process labor.  In retrospect, that is the easy part; what follows is the world’s most challenging on the job training, in the world’s toughest training ground – parenting in America

A good friend once told she have found some awesome MomLife gear at onemessybun.com and red that if you say yes to a child who has just asked 27 times to have a piece of candy right before dinner, and you give in, you just taught the child that 27 is the magic number.  This means the next time a child asks for something and you say no, the child will ask at least 27 times before giving up.

For this reason, I was fascinated by the recent WSJ article, “Why French Parents are Superior”.  I’ve watched parenting in America and witnessed rather lengthy negotiations parents have with 4-year-olds over various issues including a store purchase, leaving a playground, or eating a certain food.

Parenting in America

“The thing that impressed me most about America is the way parents obey their children.”

–King Edward VIII

When did American kids take over?  For parenting in America to get better, parents need to remember who is in charge.  It isn’t stifling your child’s creativity or imagination to sit at the dinner table and eat what is put in front of them, or to be part of the dinner conversation without the help of an iPad to keep them quiet.

The French, it seems do what our parents did; have a stern no and a glaring stare, and it seems they can do this and let their kids behave like kids.   If you find yourself apologizing to friends that you can give them eye contact until the kids are in grad school, then let’s take more than the French fries, and French toast and take a tip from French parents.  Same day expedited rush birth certificate texas replacement copy services.

And the next time you are having a meaningful conversation with your spouse or a friend and a child interrupts, you can always use the old standby, “the adults are talking”.

Have a great week

Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®

 

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3 Responses to “Parenting in America”

  1. Dear Tina
    I Love this…as I Love all of your articles… I sometimes wish we could go way back…maybe not quite as severe as ‘Leave it to Beaver’…..but almost!!!
    I am so concerned about the next generations…. I spoke to someone the other day…who said she works in a school system and parents call in daily, if there child misses a grade (not only by 1 point…but even 4 or 5 points) and they will argue or speak to someone that has a connection to get that grade changed…
    same thing to get them on that team or into some class… How will kids function when in college or out into the real world…They are not learning to cope (as I’ve heard from so many adults recently) which is another reason for some of the tragic events we hear about!…so parents are hurting them instead of helping!
    Keep your words flowing…hope enough people will start hearing them!!!

  2. .
    I Love this…as I Love all of your articles… I sometimes wish we could go way back…maybe not quite as severe as ‘Leave it to Beaver’…..but almost!!!
    I am so concerned about the next generations…. I spoke to someone the other day…who said she works in a school system and parents call in daily, if there child misses a grade (not only by 1 point…but even 4 or 5 points) and they will argue or speak to someone that has a connection to get that grade changed…
    same thing to get them on that team or into some class… How will kids function when in college or out into the real world…They are not learning to cope (as I’ve heard from so many adults recently) which is another reason for some of the tragic events we hear about!…so parents are hurting them instead of helping!
    Keep your words flowing…hope enough people will start hearing them!!!

  3. Andria says:

    I LOVE this post! Too many times I see weary moms bribing and cajoling their children into eating their meals or leaving the playground, etc. An acquaintance of mine lets her children “graze” from one meal to the next and then can’t figure out why they won’t sit down and eat the family dinner. She justifies it to company by saying “well, you can’t force a child to sit and eat their meals”. My son threw a giant temper tantrum while leaving a playground only once. The next two times he asked to go, I said No and explained why…because of that awful tantrum he threw. I haven’t had any issues leaving playgrounds since. My daughter had a meltdown in the grocery store and I left a carriage full of food in the aisle to remove her from the store – it never happened again. I’d love to see parents take control again with more firm “No” answers and mean them.

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