Reply to If you were starting out as a new parent all over again, what would you do differently?

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Reply to "If you were starting out as a new parent all over again, what would you do differently?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kids are 14-20. Three. Love them with all my heart but each are a handful in their own right.

So many things I would have done differently-

[b]Would not have tried to be their "friend" and dug my feet into being a parent, and making hard calls, with no apologies.[/b]

Would not have done the traditional routine of going to camp every summer, like a sheep following the crowd and would have used that money to experience life in another country for a month during the summer

would have listened more to what THEY wanted to do in terms of extracurriculars instead of what we wanted to see them do

Would have been tougher with regard to academics, holding them to a fair expectation and not backing down (example son got a D on a test and teacher called about him struggling due to his immaturity and offered to let him redo it, but we let him go out to a party and a game on the weekend instead of making him stay home to study)

thats overall my list. You live and learn.[/quote]

Mine are 19 and 15 and I was just thinking the other day that I was glad I said yes to so many things when they were little (e.g., icecream, playtime, trips to the museum when I didn't feel like it, toys they had their heart set on). I wasn't trying to be their "friend" and still set boundaries as a parent, but there is such a small window in life where things like a purple lollipop or taking 500 dinosaur toys into the bathtub can make your whole day. So many people would say that would spoil them, but they are reasonable, happy teens. 19 didn't even really get a b-day present this year because there wasn't anything he wanted  (we even offered a new phone but he said his 11 was still "fine" and to save the new phone for when he needed it).[/quote]

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