We normally allow our kids to open at least one present on Christmas Eve. However, our boys have been so utterly rowdy and hipper and haven’t followed directions in so long it’s not even funny. It seems like they have been wanting to test and see if Santa (or we) will actually NOT give them presents. I’m inches away from unwrapping presents and getting receipts together and taking those lovely gifts back to the stores.
My boys have been showing major attitudes and lots of disrespect lately. I know it’s a stage they all have to go through, but I refuse for them to continue to act like ungrateful twits and being full of disrespect for authority the rest of their lives. Plus they have been acting like “we owe” them everything that they are getting.
I was raised up to be respectful and to be totally grateful for everything I was given. If I didn’t act in those manners, you better believe my Mom was very quick to take things away from me and make me work extra hard until I had “an attitude adjustment.” I put in several long hours worth of work daily because I was extremely stubborn and bullheaded just like my kids. There were plenty of times my mom didn’t give me something that she may have gotten me just because I acted like “I was owed it.”
Maybe their attitude and behavior lately has been bothering me so much because of the fact that when I was growing up my mom couldn’t afford to spend lots of money on gifts for me. So, I treasured everything she ever gave me. It breaks my heart to see my kids (along with many other kids in today’s society) feel like we owe it to them to give them presents and other things all the time. Am I the only parent who is willing to admit that this is an issue with their kids??
There are some people who think my husband and I are overly protective and overbearing when it comes to our kids. However, I know that if we don’t do it then they won’t get it anywhere else because people are literally put in a corner it seems when it comes to handling kids anymore. I brought these kids into this world, and by golly, I’m going do everything in my power to make sure that they are an asset to this world rather than another added burden.
I was watching Rebra with my kids tonight. I was tickled pink because she was yelling at her teenager about being rude and being grounded. She told her daughter’s stepmother that it was the first time she felt like her daughter’s mother in a long time. Being a mother means being the mean one who has to push their kids to act they way they are suppose to even when it means being tough and mean and unyielding. That’s one of the things I love the most about my husband he doesn’t relent up on his decisions very easily when it comes to the kids. I cave more than I should, but they have learned when I truly mean business!!
My grand-mother-in-law gave me the biggest compliment I could have ever dreamed of getting tonight. She stated that I had some very well mannered kids and we were doing a great job with them. This is from a woman who has raised far more kids than I ever had. I was so shocked to hear her say that I could barely get a thank you out because I was so flattered. However, I wish I could agree with her, but I can’t because I feel like I’m the worse critic of how I parent my kids there is. Am I alone with this issue??
