How would you describe - your parenting style?

moped wrote: Just curious, I was going to ask for one word, but that is hard.

I think I am

Strict
Persistent
stubborn
the boss
old school
fun
very loving

momofone replied: I would say pretty laid-back but i will be very firm when i have to be.

PrairieMom replied: I am a mean Mommy control freak. But I love my babies.

moped replied:
Yep that is me!

redchief replied: Rick (24) says I am stern but forgiving.

He described our collective parenting styles (Lisa and me) as good cop-bad cop. I being the bad cop.

Katie (15) says I'm strict. She says I'm different from all the other parents.

HuskerMom replied:
That's me too.

msoulz replied:
Yes, I lean this way too I am afraid to say. But I am not afraid to say I love my babies too and I hope they won't need too much therapy . . .

luvbug00 replied: fun. I'm not her best friend but I'm not her drill sargent either.

lisar replied: I am:

Mean only when I have to be only
I tend to give in to easily sometimes
If I say something its going to happen (no tv for the day, no outside etc...) I stick to it.

But I love my kids and I spoil the mess out of them, which isnt always such a good thing

lisar replied:
She is 15, we all thought that when we were that age. LOL.. "But so and so gets to do it how come I cant." I used that line all the time and the granny would say "if so and so went and jumped off a bridge would you do it to" and she hated it when I told her I already done that. LOL.

3xsthefun replied: I'm pretty laid back for the most part. But sometimes I can get pretty strict with them.

luvmykids replied: I'm mellow, pretty go with the flow. As long as the flow is going the right direction

I'm good at sticking to my word, but usually wait too long to lay down the law.

If we were good cop, bad cop, it's 50/50. DH is very relaxed about most things I'm uptight about and vice versa.

moped replied:
Heard that line a million times too

MommyToAshley replied: According to Ashley, I am "the best Mommy ever" (when she gets to do something fun)

According to Ashley, I am "the worst Mommy ever" (when she gets grounded to her room)

I can be strict, but I don't like to be.
It breaks my heart to see her cry but at the same time I know I have to be consistent. I've been pretty lucky though because Ashley has been pretty easy to parent as far as discipline goes.

I try to go out of my way to show her that I care.
I love to take time out of my day to make her feel special. Sometimes that means going some place, just the two of us. Sometimes that means sitting down and playing Polly Pockets on the floor for the millionth time. And, sometimes that means we just sit and talk and I listen to what she has to say. If she comes to me when I am working, I try not to put her off as I want her to know that what she has to say is important. However, sometimes she does have to wait until I am done working. I think that is the toughest thing I have had to balance since I work at home. I think it'd be easier if I worked out of the office, but then I wouldn't get to see her as much. We do have a set "talk time" as part of our nighttime routine that we talk about the day -- this is when I usually hear about the things that happened at school, who said what to who, and who did what to who, etc.

I can be controlling, but try to give some space too.
With her personal relationships and her extra curricular activities, I am pretty laid back. I'm not the stage Mom or the soccer Mom on the sideline coaching my kid on what to do. It's hard not to compare your kid, but I have learned a long time ago to just let that go.

With school work, I get a little more controlling. I am just trying to instill good study and work habits in her, but sometimes I wonder if I put too much pressure on her. I had her redo a paper that she did in school that she got a bad grade on because she didn't understand the work. I simply wanted to make sure she understood the work, which she did, but she didn't hear the instructions. So, she asked me, "Mom, did you get an "A" on every paper when you were in school. At which time I told her that no, I didn't. But, it's ok to make mistakes as long as you are doing your best. But, it's not ok to get a bad grade for not studying, not doing your homework, or not trying your best.

You asked for a few words, I gave paragraphs. But, it is difficult for me to sum up parenting in just a few words. I definitely wouldn't win the O'Reilly piffy award.

CantWait replied: Fun, the cool mom, but STRICT, very strict.

PrairieMom replied:
My kids haven't pulled that yet, but I full on expect to be the wicked witch for the next 20 or so years. I figure, if they both hate me, at least it is something they can do together.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: lol - the word isn't appropriate here!

I am the mean one.
I am the rule-maker
I am the disciplinarian
I am the one who makes them do their chores
I make them eat vegetables

I also let them dance in the rain
and let them get muddy
and let them spend a saturday cuddled on the couch with me watching cartoons instead of their chores

moped replied:
That sounds a lot like me too!!

A&A'smommy replied:
that me!!!

according to Alyssa I'm a mean mommy but she loves me anyway

TheOaf66 replied: rule with an iron fist

Boo&BugsMom replied: Don't let Troy fool you...he's a teddy bear compared to me.

I am:
Fair
Persistant
Stubborn
Fun
Loving
Forgiving
Creative (I usually am the one who comes up with activities)
Definitly old school!!!

I believe we have to pick our battles, but I think the battles you pick you have to be stern about. I am a stickler for manners and ethics. My biggest pet peeve is when they get argumentative. Tanner does this now, and it soooooooooooo gets under my skin.

I also believe communication with them is really important.

moped replied: Jack is agrumentative right now too - if I say the sky is blue, he will fight me til it is red!

My2Beauties replied: I am pretty easy going but I tend to not have a lot of patience so if one is throwing fits or not listening I get very stern. I am not very consistent though which is really bad on my part I know, scold me now because seriously it depends on my mood. Some days I'm very easy going and lah-dee-dah and let the kids have a blast and run all over the house and do pretty much whatever they want as long as they aren't breaking anything LOL other times, like say if I'm not feeling well or had a bad day at work I'm stricter, you know clean up your mess now, or better yet don't even think about making a mess. I think that's something I need to work on really bad. Also, I know this sounds bad but Brian is a big ol' teddy bear and can't stand to hear them cry...I can honestly listen to it and it doesn't bother me. I want my kids to be ready for the real world and be tough enough but have sympathy as well. Sometimes I make Hanna do things she doesn't wanna do. For example the other night when our power went out the first night, we stayed at home because it was still warm in our house and Hanna usually sleeps with a TV and I've been trying to get her our of this for a while now, but I give in. She wanted to sleep with us because she had no tv, so we compromised, I let her play her v-pocket for a little while but then she had to sleep in there. She was really scared and was crying a little bit, I told her if she needed me to come get me but that she was abig girl and could do this. She woke up the next morning and said mommy I love sleeping in the dark now, I don't ever want the TV on again when I sleep. So it turned out fine, it hurt me to see her cry from being scared but I try to instill in her that she does have to be brave sometimes in life. Sorry I wrote a paragraph didn't I? LOL!