Thursday, November 05, 2009

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO PARENTING


I have noticed that parents, or at least the ones I know, seem to fall into two categories. The first group seems to try to fill junior's every waking hour with fun activities and sports and their parent runs around like an exhausted taxi driver skipping meals to get them from A to B. In my experience, this type looks rather blank when you ask how junior ever fits in helping around the house. The second type tries to give junior an insight into the life that will soon be upon him while still trying to make sure childhood isn't all boring chores. I have several friends who roll their eyes in disbelief when they hear me ask the kids what they want to cook on their respective cooking nights, or when I ask Marcel if he's ironed his shirt for school. Tonight Lots made homemade meatballs in bolognese sauce and spaghetti, while Léon and Anna helped to peel the garlic and pick the parsley in the garden. Of course my kids may bitch when they are older that their mother was a slave driver and their friends were all out learning tennis, but I would prefer to think that on their first night alone in their own flat they won't need to ring me, as one student friend did to me back in 1987 when we left home, to ask how you cook a cabbage because her parents had never taught her to cook...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Last night Ellen helped me peel the onions for dinner - it took quite a while, but she was SO proud. A shame she can't do the ironing yet - I hate it! (But then again - Kåre is 31, and he looks complete helpless when he has to iron a shirt!)

Phyl said...

I think that's the secret - get them into it while they still have the enthusiasm then they become useful members of society! Thomas started Léon cooking at one and he's more than capable of cooking proper food on a cooker (and though we do supervise he's never done anything stupid, nor does it faze him if he touches a hot pan, he simply runs his finger under a cold tap then carries on cooking without a whimper!)

The Scudder said...

Slave driver !!
Dat's ma Goil !! :-)

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Phyl,

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TedCo Software
Dan@SpellQuizzer.com