One of my rules

One of the reasons I like writing posts for Babyccino is because it gives me a chance to stop and think and analyse my parenting philosophies. So often when I tell my kids to do something and they ask me why, my answer is the same as every parent since the dawn of time: because I said so!!!! But actually, when I take a second to stop and think about it, most of my rules actually do exist for a (reasonably) good reason.

For example, here is one of my rules: if we are visiting someone, the rules of that person’s household apply to me and my family – not the other way round. We travel at lot and visit not just people in different countries, but also of different generations. My kids love going to my aunt’s house in Dublin, for example, as she lets them jump all over her sofas and help themselves to as many homemade cookies as they could possibly stuff in their mouth. This is not something they are allowed to do at home, but I feel that it is important for them to know the difference and how to adapt their behavior.  On the other hand, I am quite easygoing about taking off shoes when you come into our flat, while other people are not as lenient.  I want the kids to be aware of the differences and to be considerate of other people’s house rules.

I guess I want my kids to be conscious about how other people think and to accept that other people’s rules are not necessarily better or worse than ours. I also want to ingrain the flexibility into them to be able to adapt themselves to situations and be able to observe the environment they are in and be mindful of it. I am hoping (very likely vainly) that this way of thinking is going to rub off on them, making life so much more pleasant for them when they become older.

Emilie

PS The above photo is of our 6 kids last summer when we stayed at Esther’s and got to live Esther’s family’s way of life. A very fun way of life I might add! ; )

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