This site is dedicated to my ever loving bratty children, my tolerant husband and well to my friends who support me in so many ways even when we don't speak for years. Cheers - to the beautiful and not so beautiful passings in our lives. In other words - those moments when life is painful and all you can do is laugh until you cry (or pee)!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Sick kid competition

So I am on "vacation" this week at home and so far Amber was home sick Monday, Mallory on Tuesday and then today (Wednesday) Mallory called and wanted to come home from school. In a moment of selfish irritation I told her that if she was sick enough to come home, she should call an ambulance - not me to come and get her...... I JUST WANT ONE DAY TO STAY HOME ALONE ON MY VACATION..... Yes, this proves that we do have a selfish side no matter how long we have been a mommy...

I am sick too - sick and tired of the kids that think one staying home means the other kid is automatically sick and gets to spend a whole day with mom.

LISTEN UP PARENTS - HERE ARE SOME OF OUR SOLUTIONS TO PARENTING

CHILD HOME SICK TOO MUCH - Take them to a Dr. to make sure they aren't dying like they say they are. If the child (or teenager) stays home or comes home sick during the week, there will be NO MAKING PLANS for the following weekend. Amazingly, the kids hate this idea.

TEENAGER DITCHING SCHOOL - We told Mallory that she can have a car "free and clear" at graduation "IF" she didn't have a single unexcused absence from school until then. If she does have a mishap and ditch a class, the car will be traded in for something for us and she will be on her own as far as a car. MODIFICATION: If your child is not good with long term rewards you can tell them that for every class they ditch it will cost them $500 to the price of the car....

NOT DOING DISHES - We decided that if Mallory did not have the dishes put away by 6:00pm that was fine, but then she also had to load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. This is working well because it gives her a choice... there are nights where she doesn't feel like doing them until after 6:00 and she just loads the dirty dishes..... it gives her choice and freedom.

NOT BRUSHING TEETH - Although I find the thought repulsive, my daughter Amber does not....... So, instead of paying hundreds of dollars to fill cavaties, we will pay amber twenty five cents per day... YES, $91 per year to keep her teeth from rotting out of her mouth.

We have no other words of wisdom as parenting is subjective and it changes daily.

See you all soon!!!!!

1 comment:

Scylla said...

Marlena has a brushing teeth issue too. Our soulution? She has to brush her teeth five times (morning and night for 2 and a half days) in a row well, without complaining, before she gets dessert or candy.

We told her that candy and dessert ruin teeth, and the only way she gets them is to take care of her teeth. That way, she gets to choose between candy, and teeth brushing. It has helped a lot! (It has the added benefit of her having less candy and dessert as well. Maybe I should have a similar rule for me.)

I don't think it's selfish to have one day to yourself on vacation. So far, Marlena is sick on her vacations, which makes them a lot of work for me.

Love you! Hug your family for me please.