Reply to Did you have fun parents growing up?

Forum Index » Family Relationships

Reply to "Did you have fun parents growing up?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]When I think of "fun" parents I think of parents who try to be friends, not parents, to their children (the kind of parents who allow teens to drink and have parties). But I gather this isn't what OP is talking about.

I was born in 1980. My parents were great parents. They, especially my mother, did do a lot of fun activities with their kids when we were young (under age 10). Home crafts, impromptu baseball games, running around the yard, hide and go seek, board games and family trips. Every night was family dinner where we all ate together. After age 10 there was a gradual transition to being much more independent and less reliant on the parents for entertainment although we still had the daily family dinner together and movie nights and weekend activities. However, throughout the entire time the parents were firmly the parents, not buddies. They gave me a lot of independence as a teen but also kept a close eye on me in their own way, and as an adult I now realize how well-balanced it was.

I also agree with other posters that there has been a generational change in childrearing attitudes. Despite that my parents were naturally closely involved in my childhood and provided many activities and entertainment, there were also plenty of times when I was left to my devices and would spend hours just reading or playing with toys or with other kids, even as young as age 6/7. There were a lot of kids in our neighborhood and I do remember spending ours running around outside in the backyards without close parental oversight. By contrast, it seems that today's parents are afraid to allow kids to do that at such a young age and the helicoptering and constant expectation to provide 24/7 stimulation is very real. My parents have commented on this as well. The ironic thing is that my parents were much more closely involved with their children than their own parents' generation. I had wonderful grandparents but there's no question that the relationship was much more formal as well, whereas my parents' relationship with their grandchildren is more laid back. My dad will pitch baseballs to his grandkids, my mother is happy to have the little kids come wake her up in the morning and play games with them, things that would have been unfathomable with my own grandparents.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics