Posted by
Desert Dad on Saturday, July 22, 2006 11:10:13 AM
I read somewhere, sometime ago, that parents should try to say "Yes" to their children more than "No" - easier said than done...
My wife and I have 3 children, 2 daughters 14 & 15 and our son 11 - (Great children!) the challenge comes in the fairly constant requests to "do stuff" "buy stuff" "have stuff" and it will wear us out sometimes. I had a great example in my own mother, who was great at saying "OK" if it was at all possible. I dont believe my 3 brothers and i were spoiled, at least not in a material sense - but we were spoiled in having lots of opportunites to "try living".
We struggle today with the fear of being overly permissive & spoiling our kids, vs. providing them opportunities to explore and "do+buy stuff" and explore what we can.
I think this will be an ongoing opportunity to help our kids develop their interests and hopefully grow some self-control on their part; not everything can/will be available.