Let’s face it, parenting today takes work.
Something’s gotta give. We’re trying to do too much with our kids, too soon, too often.
By today’s impossible standards of how to be a good parent, I’m a complete failure. I love my daughter, and enjoy our time together, but at heart, I’m a lazy parent. Which is why you’ll never catch me:
- following my toddler around on the playground
- trying to cajole her into eating dinner
- spending every waking minute fixated on her
I accept, and embrace, that she’s an individual. As an individual, she deserves the opportunity to make her own choices, solve problems for herself, and build awareness of her unique interests.
Which is why I’ve dedicated myself to be as lazy as possible, as often as possible, when it comes to parenting my child. I’ve embraced “lazy parenting” with all my heart.
Don’t misunderstand — I’m not negligent, or uncaring. My daughter’s not walking through broken glass barefoot or watching seven hours of SpongeBob a day.
We just try to avoid extremes. There’s no lengthy list of activities we participate in, no major demands we feel the obligation to meet. If we’re interested in something, we explore it; if not, we move on.
Rarely experiencing a #parentingfail feels great!
So, what does lazy parenting look like?
- If I want to enjoy an adult conversation with my partner, we turn on an episode of Sesame Street for our daughter. And we talk.
- If I want to read a book, I do. Whether she’s in the room or not.
- If I’m not in the mood to play, I politely decline the invitation.
- Our pre-Coronavirus playground outings involved me parked on a bench, while my daughter (get ready for this) played.
You won’t ever see me running after my daughter on the playground, force-feeding Goldfish. I won’t interrupt her when she’s climbing something or force her to share when a new playmate arrives.
In the beginning, being a lazy parent took some work, because it’s so ingrained in us to be “on” all the time.
Enough with the guilt trip. Lazy parenting is working for us, and I encourage you to give it a try, too!
Bonus: There’s a lot of research to back up this hands-off approach. Keep reading.
Here are the 8 rules (that I totally made up) to be a better, lazier parent, while raising healthier, happier kids.
Lazy Parenting Rule #1: Ignore Your Kids
It’s good for them. Really.
By staying in the sidelines ready to offer assistance, but not taking responsibility for each and every minute of their time, you let your kids develop the lifelong skills of creative exploration, problem solving, and critical thinking, through self-directed learning and free play.
Self-directed learning is about filling children with the desire to learn, rather than just the knowledge. Without a constant stream of parent-guided activities, children determine for themselves what they want to do next and how to do it, to work around obstacles and get creative with solutions. Even employers agree the 21st century values self-directed learners.
Free play is self-directed learning applied to playtime. The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) has shown free play is critical for reducing anxiety, depression, and stress in children. In addition to the psychological benefits, studies have also shown that free play has educational advantages where children engaged in free play showed better focus on academic activities.
How does that work in a lazy parent’s favor? Children who learn to play on their own seldom complain “I’m bored” and look to their parents to provide ideas for entertainment all the time.
Lazy Parenting Rule #2: Say Yes to TV
Okay, okay, this one has a couple of caveats, but television can actually be a good thing.
First, cancel cable. How do you watch television then?! Easy, stream your shows and movies. We have a Netflix account that allows (mostly) commercial-free television time and offers a huge selection of educational shows. (Bonus: avoiding commercials means avoiding the demand for more commercial stuff!)
Next, ban fast-paced shows. Research has shown that just a few minutes of SpongeBob is enough to decrease IQ levels, and impulse control, in preschoolers. Look for shows that encourage tolerance and learning. (Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer are great examples.)
Finally, limit tv time. The AAP recommends no screen time for children under the age of 2, and no more than 2 hours per day for children over 2.
Go ahead and turn on Sesame Street. Then, enjoy a glass wine, some adult conversation, and your partner. The benefits of a healthy, less-stressed relationship will more than make up for 30 minutes of TV time.
Lazy Parenting Rule #3: Let Hunger Prevail
When did we start thinking it was wrong for kids to be hungry? When I was younger, we used to roam around the neighborhood and come back starving.
Mom could set pretty much anything down in front of us, and we’d devour it.
Working up an appetite is a good thing! Our daughter eats more when we limit snacks during the day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. That’s the goal. No snacking in the car, or at the playground.
The benefit of limited snacking is two-fold. One, I’m able to plan healthier meals, and two, my daughter is hungry enough to eat healthy food. As Tribeca parenting authority Dr. Michel Cohen says in his common-sense parenting book The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent
Be lazy and skip the snacks the next time you’re heading to the playground (whenever that may be!). Your kids will eat better for it.
Lazy Parenting Rule #4: Let Them Sleep On The Floor
My daughter has slept on the floor, for most of her life. With the exception of her newborn weeks, and a couple of regressions, she loves her floor bed.
A Montessori-inspired nursery (which includes a floor bed, very few toys, and a room child-proofed for exploration) is a useful tool for developing a child’s independence. It’s a nice break for me, too… instead of cries to release her from the confines of a crib, she’ll happily entertain herself for a bit upon waking, by reading a book, looking out the window, or exploring the room.
The upside to lazy parenting, Montessori style? It’s clean, cheap, and fosters independence and free play. Limited furniture and a handful of toys and books are all that’s needed to get started.
Montessori-inspired education encourages learning through action. Research suggests children who participate in this educational approach receive life-long benefits, including advancement in the math and sciences fields, especially.
“Help me to do it myself” is a main principle of Montessori education. And when my daughter learns to do something for herself (getting out of bed, making the bed, turning her white noise off) that’s just one less thing this lazy parent has to do.
Lazy Parenting Rule #5: Read a Book (By Yourself)
For 15–30 minutes a day, I sit down a read a book. Not a children’s book; an adult book, filled with long paragraphs and hundreds of pages. My daughter has learned to respect my reading time.
Expect an adjustment period, while your child gets used to this new daily task. The natural tendency is to interrupt and demand your attention. Calmly, but firmly, explain you’re reading your book for 15 minutes, and she’s welcome to do the same, or find alternative work of interest.
I try to read “real” books in front of my daughter, but often end up with books purchased on my iPad. I was pleasantly surprised the other day when my daughter noticed me retrieving the iPad, and then said, “Read booky now? Okay!”
Success!
I’d much rather have her associate an iPad with a book, than with Facebook, that’s for sure!
Research has shown a positive parental attitude towards reading is critical to raising a child who loves to read. Which occupies them and makes lazy parents happy.
Lazy Parenting Rule #6: Don’t Let Junk Food Enter Your House
A Dartmouth study of toddlers showed that children as young as 2 mimic their parents food choices, even when selecting items in a grocery store.
Parents everywhere know it’s impossible to keep children away from harmful foods (sugar in particular). What I’ve learned as a lazy parent is to simply not allow it in the house.
If I can’t control my own ice cream cravings — how can I expect my child to? By not allowing junk food to enter our house, I completely sidestep a whole slew of unnecessary battles.
Choice awareness is another method of encouraging healthy eating habits.
When junk food does make it into the house (goodie bags filled with candies, anyone?), ask your child if they would prefer 2 or 3 M&Ms instead of letting them dive into the whole bag.
What’s all this mean to a lazy parent? It means eliminate the poor food choices, and you eliminate the fight. If it’s not there, they can’t have it. End of story.
Lazy Parenting Rule #7: Refuse To Buy Toys
To a child, toys are work; it’s how they learn. And a toy should never serve solely one purpose. The ultimate parenting guru, Dr. Spock, agrees that creative playthings are much better than single-purpose toys.
Our home has an armoire of open-end playthings, and we refuse to buy single-purpose toys. We rotate the collection, bringing out a few items at a time, and replacing them when our daughter loses interest, or develops an interest in a different type of play.
Rather than being bored by her toys, our daughter enjoys a fresh selection of toys every week or two.
Look for toys that can be repurposed and reused. For example, I’ll tape a shape outline on the floor, and ask my daughter to collect items from her toy collection that match the shapes. Shape blocks are used for color sorting and tower building. (Hint: Poms-Poms may be the best open-ended play item you can provide. We’ve spun them, sorted them, launched them, and more.)
Creative play is important. Imagination develops around the age of 4. Create a building box, full of tools and odds and ends for your child to explore (think empty jar, toilet paper roll, twine, and cardboard boxes).
Let your child explore their imagination using simple items from around the home.
By taking a few moments to provide the supplies for open-ended play, you’ll be able to lazily take a step back, while watching your child’s creativity run wild. Check out my Montessori Toddler Pinterest board for easy ideas.
Important note: With older children, this is much easier to accomplish if you eliminate television commercials first.
Lazy Parenting Rule #8: Build a Cage
A cage is tempting, isn’t it? Alas, we don’t mean an actual cage, we mean an enforced framework of rules. We don’t want to go to jail here.
Build your family boundaries with rules that are always enforced (no exceptions), but within those rules, allow freedom and choice. This method is referred to by the French as a “cadre” (cage).
Our cadre rules:
- Daily nap
- Real-time clean-up policy (move to next activity only when first is properly stored)
- Bedtime Ritual (and early bedtime)
- Throwing food = end of meal
Within the frame lies freedom:
- Nap options: choice of blanket, stuffed animal, and book
- Clean-up: freedom to choose activities, play, and work
- Bedtime: freedom to order bedtime ritual as desired (teeth first or potty?), choice of 3 books, choice of blankets
- Offer a choice of food items, when possible. (Easiest at breakfast, we find.)
“Yes” is so much easier than “No”. By enforcing a few rules, all the time, you’ll drastically cut down on power struggles, chaos, and clean-up.
The last thing any parent, especially a lazy one, wants to do after putting the kids to bed is clean the house.
Lazy parenting is NOT uninvolved parenting! In fact, in the beginning it’s actually the opposite. Anticipate your child’s needs, and provide the tools to develop independence, imagination, and critical-thinking skills, on their own. Once you have established the new family culture of independence though, you can then choose when to be involved and how much.
At the end of the day, quality, direct interaction is crucial to a child’s development and well-being.
But quality time doesn’t have to mean all of your time.
So, go ahead. We’re giving you permission to be lazy. (It’s okay, we won’t tell.)
The 2-Minute Action Plan for Fine Parents
For our quick actions today –
- Cancel cable. Register for a Netflix account (or similar service). It’s like ripping a Band-aid off; just do it!
- Do a quick sweep of your child’s toys. Store the majority in a box or closet (you can get around to organizing later). Leave a few out, that you’ve seen your child engaging with most recently.
- Create a Building Box (odd-n-ends box for the youngest ones). Empty jars, paper towel rolls, cardboard boxes, and more.
- Introduce reading time, right away. Read a book for 15 minutes a day and explain the new daily activity. Don’t force your child to read, just lead by example.
- When indulging in a treat that’s not of the healthy variety, offer your child an option between two amounts to develop portion control awareness. Tough at first, but they’ll soon know you’re serious. After all, a little chocolate is better than no chocolate!
- Frame your “cadre” (cage). Outline 5-10 rules you plan to enforce consistently. Strive to say yes within the boundaries.
The Ongoing Action Plan for Fine Parents
Going forward, remember to –
- Keep purchases to a minimum. If you and/or your child are unable to detail 3-4 ways they could use the toy, it is not an open-ended toy. Don’t buy it.
- Rotate the toys from the closet or storage box. Watch your child to see what they’re interested in and provide it. You’ll eliminate boredom and encourage independent play.
- Remember to resupply the Building Box.
- Keep reading! It’s beneficial and relaxing, both to you and your child.
- Have confidence. Children are intuitive and can sense when your willpower is wavering. It’s hard work but enforcing the boundary rules makes for less work in the long run.
Love this. It is a win-win for both you and your child when you let them learn independence and don’t always have to hover.
So true, Julie! Thanks for reading!
Right? I still remember my mom telling me not to interfere when my daughter was content playing by herself as a baby. It seemed strange at the moment, but in hindsight, was probably the best advice ever! As I sneak out a few moments to type up this comment on a vacation, my daughter is happy playing by herself. Bliss 🙂
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Hello this sounds ideal situation to have them play independently to help them believe in themselves that they can do it without an adult supervision right next to them.
I have an almost 3 year old, baby boy, and he struggles to play or engage himself even for a few minutes without somebody next to him.
I’m curious how to get started with independent play. whenever I leave him for even a couple minutes at a spot where he can see me he still comes around to be close to me.
Thank you for your response
great article and yes I admit im a lazy parent and often feel the bad parent but u made my day!Iwas literally smiling while reading #1.
thanks
Gosh, isn’t that the truth? For some reason we parents tend to believe that we need to be *doing* something with our kids all the time to be good parents. Which is such a myth. That’s why I loved this article and was so happy to publish it!
I loved this article. I wish I had read this when my teenagers were little. The idea about the child-proof room with the bed on the floor is brilliant.
The floor bed idea is brilliant isn’t it? My mom was helping me out when my daughter was little and we’d set up a temporary bed for my daughter’s afternoon naps right in the middle of the living room so my mom wouldn’t have to go up and down the stairs with the baby. I never thought to baby proof her room and set her up there to play by herself when she woke up in the mornings though — that would have been such a nice solution to get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning while she kept herself engaged!
Just curious, being an online student, how can i work with using my ipad with my almost 2 year old without him crying to touch it or see his videos on it? Also can you advice on how to handle a boy who is almost 2 and can only play with crayons on a sketchpad because the landlord banned writing marks or stains in the house. My son enjoys messes, playing with creams, whip cream, etc and i want him to also enjoy painting with actual paint but i cant because of the house rules…help! Thanks
LR – one way you might enjoy using things like whipped cream is during bath time. U can even get creative by buying food coloring and letting him mix colors to see new colors he makes. Then when bath is over it just washes down the drain. Or using water soluble paints in the tub even if it’s not bath. It’s usually easy to clean and can take up hours of your child’s time. You can also do these activities outside in the yard -still washes away easily
LR,
iPads are tough! I try (and I stress the try part!) to only let my daughter see me reading on my iPad. When she shows an interest, I then direct her to her collection of books.
We do not let her use the iPad on her own (the exception being watching the occasional show when traveling). I tested out a few games, but my daughter (2 years) seems a bit young for them.
I will shamelessly admit to using the iPad while traveling, however. I don’t care what anyone says – a tired, cranky 2 year sometimes just needs to zone out when over-stimulated, and the iPad is the perfect solution 🙂
As for coloring, Crayola makes a super-washable marker that you comes off anything, in our experience, with just water. Perhaps that would be a solution?
DeAnna’s ideas were all excellent, as well!
Thanks for reading, and I hope it was helpful!
I love DeAnna’s and Ashley’s suggestions, LR — I hope they give you enough ideas to get started.
About the iPad, One of the things we do is have a separate touchpad for my daughter. It is a low-cost unit (some unknown brand) that my husband got clearance priced, but the fact that she has one of her own keeps her from asking for our devices. It is a “privilege” that she gets to keep as long as she stops using when the time is up. I don’t remember when we started using the concept of timers (maybe 2 years old is too young?), but ever since, managing her screen time has been fairly stress-free. She is 6 now, and usually starts the kitchen timer on the oven by herself when she uses any device (including TV) and stops when the timer beeps. So far, so good.
About the mess, I am not sure about the walls, but to protect our carpet, we got an easy wipe mat from costco and it is permanently set up in her play area. We need it mainly for playdoh since my daughter loves playing with it, but getting playdoh out of carpet is a pain. It was hard to enforce the rule at first that playdoh must stay on the play mat area, and there were some tears when we insisted on no playdoh the next day because she had got some in the carpet the previous day, but after the rule has been established, it really makes for great “lazy parenting”… I give her a can of fresh playdoh and all the playdoh tools and she will keep herself busy of hours while I can go about my business knowing I don’t have to worry about the cleanup later 🙂
I would suggest add some rules into your house rules about respecting property by not colouring on the walls, yes, i know he is only 2! Teach that crayons go only on paper. crayon marks on walls and floors are easy to clean up. i would only supply crayons at this age and if you absolutely have to give your child markers, test out o few of the “washable” ones because they are not always washable. your child can use these items, but be smart about where his skills are at and what type of tools he can understand right now. i personally do not give markers to 2 year old unsupervised and only provide washable crayons. paint can only be done with you setting up the space first to ensure there will be no damage. that way paint can be a real treat and you can use the opportunity with painting to teach respect for the paint and respect for following house rules about pain. As far as making messes, set up specific time with your soon for supervised messy play time and only do it outside or in the tub or sink. If he is getting into these items when you are not supervising him directly, you need to change how things are organized and where these items are kept. if the whipped cream is on the top shelf at the back in the fridge then he won’t be able to access it. at the young age of 2, he should still be asking for food not going into the fridge without asking permission. if he is getting shaving cream from the bathroom, again its about the structure you create. keep shaving cream out of site, out of reach, out of mind.
This article provides great research and backing to argument of the parent texting and checking FB in the park while NOT watching their kids. I have often made this argument to friends that children need to learn to play creatively and also that sometimes being at the park is the ONLY time a parent gets a break. As a mom of 4 young kids (8, 6, 6, 4) when my kids were a couple years younger the park was the only time I got a chance to sit down. Glad I’m not the only one who parents this way!
DeAnna,
Thanks for the insightful comments! Yes, many times the only break a mother gets is at the park.
For me, it’s really about awareness of actions and surroundings. I take my child to the park so she can play – not so I can have yet another task added to my day.
We get so serious about parenting “properly”, we forget to just be parents! 🙂
Thanks for the helpful comments, and have a lovely day!
I try to combine socializing with park time too! In our case though, we have a few friends who live close by and have kids about the same age as my daughter, so we try to time it in such a way that we meet at the park around the same time. This way, the kids get a chance to play with each other, I know that my daughter has company and so I don’t need to watch her the entire time, and it is a great time for me and my friends to catch up 🙂
This article made my day! It feels as if you have a camera in our home. Thankfully, the twins are pretty good at entertaining themselves. It is nice to see that other parents believe in children playing independently, in a secure environment (of course). This summer should be interesting, especially with my duo who like to divide and conquer playgrounds.
“…divide and conquer…” love this, AG! Hopefully your children will be leading the free-play movement at the park this summer!
Gosh, I can’t wait for the weather to turn either. We didn’t go as much to the park during the winter months this year… hopefully we will make up for it in spring and summer.. Enjoy your free-play time, AG!
Great article Ashley! I haven’t even got children and I totally agree. The last time I helped a friend sell SOME of her kid’s unused toys down the local market it took two trips in the car to get it all down there – and you still couldn’t move in the playroom. It’s great that parent’s love their kids so much, but children are simple creatures and simple routines and pleasures work best. Well done for saying it, you sound like a great parent.
This comment is just in time, Mark… we did an article on decluttering just last week 🙂 It’s hard with kids though — I had sworn I wouldn’t be a parent who would buy too many things for my daughter, but somehow, over the years, we’ve still accumulated way too much “stuff”. It just happens. Even if we don’t buy something, the presents they get and the knick-knacks they collect are enough to create a small pile!
So true! We’ve made a point to buy almost no toys for our daughter, and we are still full up…it’s a never-ending battle.
I sure wish I had this info when my daughter was a baby to toddler age. I am a lazy parent and believe in her learning by small mistakes (I do keep her out of harm’s way). The box idea is great. We have an I’m-Bored-Jar full of craft things that she can do. It has all the goodies like pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom poms, googly eyes, feathers, and just crafty things she can glue and use to make interesting art. I stole the idea from a close friend and it has been a great idea. Thanks for a fabulous article that helps to take away any guilt I have for being a lazy parent.
Love the I’m-Bored-Jar idea, Michelle — Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
(And glad you liked the article too – Thanks for your kind words 🙂 )
Great post! I’m a lazy parent without even know it… (except maybe with the exception of sleeping them on the floor!). I love the cage idea – after working as a school teacher for some years, it is amazing how much kids love rules and if we set clear boundaries and expectations at home, it does take away the endless power struggles around bed time, morning routines and makes our job to instil the right habits, values and beliefs into our kids much easier. Thanks for writing such a great article – I will share it with my community.
Thanks for sharing, Anna. I’ve spoken to several teachers and it seems like they all realize the importance of setting up boundaries and giving freedom within those boundaries. Yet, as a parent, that was one of the hardest things for me to get the hang of… to put my foot down the first time the boundary is pushed and stay firm even if the tears flowed. But once past that initial testing period, I find that “freedom within limits” is probably one of the best positive parenting tools, that works so well with the lazy parenting style 🙂
By those standards, I’m a a very lazy parent. I’m okay with that!
LOL. It’s deliciously liberating to even just read that statement! 🙂
Nice article! I can relate to much of it, although I’m reluctant to call any good parent “lazy.” I think of it as more “hands off.” I grew up in a family where everyone always had their own projects to do, and that’s essentially what we’ve created in our home as well. We’ve always liked being together but doing our own things, and at special moments teaming up to all play a game or go out on an adventure.
We have a different approach to toys, though. As a musician and violin maker I have a whole lot of single purpose items I love, so there is value in that, plus who am I to determine what inspires my kids? Just because I only see a single use for a toy doesn’t mean they do, and I’m amazed at how creative they are with everything they have.
In any case, I’ve always been a little freaked out when I’ve encountered other people’s kids who expect to be entertained by the adults around them, because mine have always been perfectly happy on their own much of the time. Glad to know there are other parents who have a similar approach.
I think therein lies the dichotomy, Korinthia. I know how much work good parenting is and am reluctant to call other good parents “lazy”. Yet, when it comes to the way I deal with my own daughter and choose to let her keep herself entertained (for instance on the playground where I can see other moms pushing their kids on the swing), a little voice in my head says “there you go being lazy again!” 🙂
A really great article, Ashley because your suggestions are doable and because you have focused on how being less hands-on is better. It gives parents more time for themselves and kids, the space to explore and learn on their own.
Like you, I believe in the Montessori method (and the Waldorf method too.) My daughter attended Montessori and has grown up to be a self-learner. I have seen how limits (toys, unhealthy food/grazing, TV, hanging out at the mall) has taught her that she cannot have everything all the time, but she can have some things at the right time. I so love your suggestion about regularly reading your own book as an example. Children then learn to enjoy reading and to observe adult boundaries and quiet time.
My takeaway from your article is a validation of the belief that the finest parents are those who know how to take care of their needs because they are then better equipped to take care of their children’s needs. But it takes planning, commitment, and and a bit more confidence in our children’s abilities to figure things out and make simple decisions. Yep, I’ll be working for a badge that says ” Ashley-inspired lazy parent.”
“[…] she cannot have everything all the time, but she can have some things at the right time” — I love that framing, Luwee!
I think some the struggle I have with boundaries, and sticking with them is that most boundaries are fluid. For instance, like Ashley mentioned, I have tight limits on how much touchpad time my daughter gets at home, but while traveling all bets are off and I’m more than happy to let her zombie out on her touch pad. Your framing of boundaries gives me a nice way to think about them and explain them to my daughter when she pushes back and tries to make an exception the new rule. Thanks!
What a fantastic article! I can definitely take some of your advice. Sounds like a great way to strive for a more relaxed lifestyle 🙂
Right? Got to love these win-win situations 🙂
Great article. However, I think the headline is something of a misnomer. If this is ‘lazy’ parenting, I can’t imagine what ‘hardworking’ parenting looks like!
Marcelle, you made me laugh when I read your comment! You are absolutely correct that if this is “lazy,” then “hardworking” is a scary proposition, indeed! Thanks for reading.
Great article Ashley! My parents raised me in this way and I have done the same with my kids. I worked as a child day care teacher for 8 years and it was sad to see those children who were clingy and didn’t know how to play on their own or with others. My daughters are 18 &13 years old. I am so proud of them and I see the merits of parenting in this style. Keep up the good work everyone! Teachers will thank you!
Ah, thank you so much for sharing that, Cheryl! I love hearing from parents with older kids who can attest that something works (or doesn’t) 🙂
Excellent article, Ashley. Your methods sound similar to the way my husband and I parent our children. I believe providing a safe, creative environment for the children to explore at their own pace not only fosters learning but also raises more emotionally stable children. I guess we will see someday but so far they seem happy, stable, and creatively engaged in life. 🙂
Tabitha,
It’s so nice to hear that other people parent the same way! Many of the readers agreed that the “lazy parenting” style is working for them. It’s awesome it works for your family, too.
We need to make “lazy parenting” a thing! 🙂
Gosh, I’m all for it. You should really start a “lazy parenting” movement, Ashley. I’ll be the first one to join that tribe! 🙂
Finally a parenting article I completely agree with! I follow all these rules and I have two happy, healthy, independent little girls (3 &5). I especially love, let them starve. I have lived in many impoverished nations. Let me tell you, there are very few picky little eaters there! Creatures will eat anything if they get hungry enough (seen Survivor?!)
Whenever I feel guilty about letting them play while I enjoy myself elsewhere, I remember my parents and grandparents. They did not play with their kids all day and we all turned out just fine. Sometimes old fashioned common sense makes sense!
Thanks, Wendy. In our house, we take “let them starve” very seriously. My daughter’s not particularly interested in sitting down for dinner when she could be doing so many of the other interesting things… so if I give her a snack anytime before dinner that takes even a little bit of the edge off her hunger, dinner is completely ruined. Now that really is too much work for me 🙂 I’ll toast with you for good old fashioned common sense!
Sumitha, you have a lovely blog with quality content. And that is why we’ve nominated you for the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD! See the details on accepting your award here http://tunedinparents.com/2015/05/28/one-lovely-blog-award/. Thanks! ~Elle C., Tuned In Parents
I’m so honored, Elle! Thank you so much for the kind words as well as the nomination 🙂
I agree…todays parenting is getting involved in each and every area of your child..it gets too much for parents as well as children…yes i beleive we cannot live their lives..they need too fall and learn….thats what we did when we were growing up.
thanks …good read. http://smartwomanworld.com/positive-parenting-approach/
You are the parent. You are the one who is there for your kids twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You make sure they are clean and fed and you go above and beyond to give them the best life that you can afford. You care for them from the little things in their lives, like the dandelions they picked for you, to the big things, like listening to why their teacher hates them.
That is what makes you the very best parent in the world for your child.
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