What's your parenting mindset/belief that goes against the grain?

[Anonymous]

I actually thing conservative Christians have something going when it comes to raising kids. Their kids seem happier, less bratty, more well respectful. I'm not religious or conservative at all but I live in an area with lots of conservatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually thing conservative Christians have something going when it comes to raising kids. Their kids seem happier, less bratty, more well respectful. I'm not religious or conservative at all but I live in an area with lots of conservatives.

This describes the Mormons and Catholics I know.

[Anonymous]

My kids weren't monitored closely and thus were not outstanding students but both excelled in college and are outstanding adults. They learned about failure and then they learned to succeed. I see a lot of young adults who were derailed when they realized that a good college was not a silver bullet and employers weren't particularly impressed by their specialness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I despised having potty trained kids. It's so annoying having to run to the bathroom every time we are in a public place. Diapers were so easy.

Of course it's easier. That's why so many people wait too long to potty train - they are lazy and don't want to deal with it. How is this going against the grain?

WTF? No. Its way easier to have potty trained kids, as long as you don't use a potty. Just teach them to use the regular toilet. Its way easier to send your kid to the bathroom than to haul around diapers.

I have never understood this. I'm the 'freakishly early' OP. Diapers are SO easy. I carry one of each size in my purse with a small bag of wipes, hardly 'hauling'. And we never have to make unscheduled stops.

I feel like I have an irrational fear that once they are potty trained I will consistently be driving somewhere nowhere in the vicinity of a bathroom and the kids will need to pee.

I also envision this adding HOURS to road trips where we all have to stop every hour to let EVERYONE out to pee. And I have to let them touch public toilet seats? I dunno I'm dreading the whole thing. I'm dreading them BEING potty trained more than potty training them.

[Anonymous]

We've always done home bday parties for all 4 of my kids (and continue to do so) despite our modest house (especially by dcum standards) and it's always been a ton of fun for everyone - never had it at a venue, never hired an entertainer, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't have hard and fast screentime limits.

Yes, we ask them to turn it off or find something else to do, but there's no X minutes per day rule.

My kids are 13 and 5.


(We also did not do any sleep training or CIO & DD nursed middle of the night until 2.5, didn't sleep straight through until 3.)

+1
Same here.
We are in the everything in modrration camp - sweets, junk food, screen time, video games, etc. Always been that way.
Kids are 4, 9, 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually thing conservative Christians have something going when it comes to raising kids. Their kids seem happier, less bratty, more well respectful. I'm not religious or conservative at all but I live in an area with lots of conservatives.

This describes the Mormons and Catholics I know.

I guess it's cute when conservative kids are well-behaved, but far less cute when they mature and discriminate against other people because they are so certain of their own code of ethics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perfectly dressed/stlyed/coiffed little girls make me kind of sad. Like they're not allowed to run and play and get messy.

Don't @ me.

Studies have shown that caregivers in day care & educational settings treat well-groomed children better than sloppy kids. Brush your kids' hair, clip their nails, make sure they look nice.

[Anonymous]

I never, ever, ever told my kid I could tell if he was lying by looking into his eyes. (And parents who tell their kids that are full of it.)

[Anonymous]

Our kids have strict bed times at 7:00 (2.5 yo) and 7:30 (5 yo). We make every effort to be home and ready for bed at those times. Kids to get stay up a bit later on rare occasions, maybe 2-3 times per year. They need their sleep and their behavior is noticeably bad if they stay up too late or don't get enough sleep the night before. Most kids we know have flexible bedtimes that are much, much later.

[Anonymous]

Never did pacifier, co sleep, rock n play or any other type of crutch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfectly dressed/stlyed/coiffed little girls make me kind of sad. Like they're not allowed to run and play and get messy.

Don't @ me.

Studies have shown that caregivers in day care & educational settings treat well-groomed children better than sloppy kids. Brush your kids' hair, clip their nails, make sure they look nice.

I don't even have a daughter, but thanks for the marching orders, weirdo.

[Anonymous]

cosleeping at 5 and 7 with no end in sight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfectly dressed/stlyed/coiffed little girls make me kind of sad. Like they're not allowed to run and play and get messy.

Don't @ me.

Studies have shown that caregivers in day care & educational settings treat well-groomed children better than sloppy kids. Brush your kids' hair, clip their nails, make sure they look nice.

But is it good for kids to have caregivers treating them like a pretty princess? To the point of the pp, who didn't hover and now has kids who are good at adulting, too much positive attention can be a bad thing. Let your kids be sloppy, and they can grow up not needing constant external validation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the people who claim their kid should be a model / actor and will retort "Oh no, people stop me ALL the time and tell me she's a baby doll and should be in commercials" are a) lying and b) delusional. There is a direct negative correlation 97% of the time. The more they insist that, the more their child looks like a gopher.

That's not really what the question is asking. The fact that you disagree with people who think their children are gorgeous is way, way different from you saying,
"I think my kids are perfectly ordinary looking and would never be considered in a casting call"

Same with a lot of these answers. I want to see answers that make people clutch their pearls.