Recently, I had a few down minutes to sit at the computer, so I hit Pinterest for a bit. One of my friends had posted a blog link about "No Fuss Parenting". I laughed, snorted, and generally scoffed at the post...at first. I mean, come on, NO FUSS???!! Gimme a break! Parenting is tough! I have "fussed" for, what, almost 18 years now?? Whilst snorting and choking on my freshly brewed iced tea, I decided I had to check this out, if just for the humor factor. I have to say, I was so pleasantly surprised that I had to blog about it and share the link. This woman, bless her, has put into words what I have been TRYING to tell young parents for years. I have to admit that I had given up on the current generation of young parents. A young parent would say to me, "How do you get your kids to sit so nicely in the restaurant?" I would reply with something like, "Well, it takes some work at home. My children have to sit nicely at dinner time." or, "How come your kids sit so nicely and color or look at books quietly in church, while mine are chewing the hymn racks off the backs of the pews?" I would reply, "Well, I started when they were very little having them sit quietly on my lap while I read to them, or while Papa read a Bible story during family time." The sweet young mother often replied with something like, "Oh, I could never do that. Have you seen my kids? They're louder and wigglier than yours and have ADHD and emotional disorders and OCD and a strange attachment to the backyard tree. I could never teach them this!" Ok, I admit that that is an exaggeration, but just barely. ;) Normally developing children CAN learn these things! My three kids are all very different and are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I have one with a will of iron, one that will argue with everyone or anything including, although not limited to that back yard tree I mentioned earlier, and one that will melt into a puddle of despondent tears with just 'the look' from Mom. I have one that studiously listened and soaked in everything, including things you'd rather they didn't hear (so, yeah, she was easy), one that HAD to ask questions CONSTANTLY and was already asking the next question before you formulated a reply to the first, and one that HAD to move. I am guilty of sarcastically thinking to myself, "What do they want, some "sit quietly in church" pill?" Forgive me. SOOOO, here it is.
No Fuss Parenting.
DISCLAIMER
And yes, I realize that there are real disorders, special needs, and whatnots that parents have to deal with, and that I probably don't understand, but I really believe that those are often labels overused and attached to children without a real cause, as the author of this post says, as well. And I promise that I won't judge some one's parenting until I really know what they have to deal with. And I promise that I am not this sarcastic to young parents. And, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with Junior Church. I just like to add humor to my blog posts and I'm so good at sarcasm.
Don't let the title deceive you. Parenting is difficult. There is no pill to make it easier. (I know! Sorry.) It takes a lot of time and effort. This post that I am sharing has to do with teaching your children to sit quietly. Who knew that anyone else even bothered anymore?? I mean, that's why you choose a church based on whether or not there's a program in place for every single service for your kids, right? I thought it was a lost art, but there you have it in true 21st century blogging style. Also, according to this woman, I apparently DID NOT abuse my kids when I made them learn to sit quietly in church. All this time, I was assured that I had.
The other posts about no fuss parenting are just as good. The "No Fuss" part coming AFTER the hard work has been done. See?
This one Pinterest post inspired me to do a Pinterest search on child rearing/parenting. The posts were absolutely hysterical, for the most part. Posts ranging from Scream Free Parenting and Reaching Your Child's Heart to Raising Children, How Less is More. How to raise a child who respects animals to how to raise boys who hunt. How to Raise A Truly Green Child to How To Raise an Eco Friendly Baby. (wait, what?) Raising Readers (ok, I liked that one) to Successful Unschooling. (SIGH) Yeah, so Pinterest Parenting is usually not a good place to go for advice. Maybe if you're more specific in your search that I was. Maybe....
Seriously, though, now that my kids have all hit their teens years, one is off to college, one in high school, and one in middle school, I can honestly say, that I am still glad that I did these things when they were little. Teenage years are difficult, and I am always STILL seeking advice, as I did when they were little. Just, not usually from Pinterest. ;)
