Tuesday 26 July 2016

Why Parents Need To Give Their Kids A Break


As we get older, it's not uncommon to look back and wish we had our time again. It's kind of ironic, really, because we spend so much time as children wishing we were older, taller and had more freedom. Once we are older, with the wealth of knowledge and experience we have now, we wish we could communicate a little of that to our child self. In truth, kids have a lot of reasons to want to get older.
The fact is that as children, we lack the ability to see that with age comes responsibility. If we had to run a home or find a job at that age, we'd be horrified. But as adults, we seem to forget a lot of what wasn't fun about being a child. And even with our own kids, we can be guilty of lying to them and to ourselves about our own childhood.
We will tell them things like "At your age I would have been grateful to have..." or "When I was your age, I respected my elders!". And maybe sometimes this is true, but it is also a very distilled version of the truth. We shouldn't forget the things we hated as kids.
"He's Such A Fussy Eater!"
Many parents are driven to distraction by trying to get their kids to eat what is put in front of them. As grown-ups, we strive to eat a balanced, healthy diet. But we have the advantage of knowing that some foods - which we may not enjoy - are good for us. We also have the benefit of knowing that some things that look unappetising actually taste good. As a kid, that lack of knowledge can make the unfamiliar worrying. You need to be patient with a kid.
"Bedtime Is A War Zone"
As an adult, bedtime is something we come to cherish. A long day of work and life's stresses can be pushed away and we can sleep. But your kids can be less keen to drift off. Territorial battles over beds can develop. In bunk beds, someone has to have the top bunk. One way of avoiding these battles is to create separation so everyone has their own space, with specific designs like Cuckooland's collection of triple bunk beds for kids and rotate who sleeps where.
"They Never Want To Do Their Homework"
Think back to when you were a kid. You spent all day at school, doing work that you mostly didn't want to do. You get home, you get changed and eat dinner, and then you have to do more work that you don't want to do. If your boss came around to your house at 8pm and dropped off a pile of files, or asked you to plumb in a toilet, would you like it much? Of course, homework is important. But your kid is not unique in not wanting to do it. It's the least fun thing ever.
Being a child is actually difficult in ways we seem to forget almost as soon as we turn 18. It helps to remember that when, as a parent, we get frustrated with our kids for just being kids.

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