We all parent in our own way. It's a combination of our general attitude, fears, past experiences and a whole lot more things thrown in. This day in age we, as parents (and everyone else for that matter), take things incredibly personal. Especially when our children are involved. It could be a statement of 'Your child isn't talking/walking/sleeping yet?' or 'Your child was doing (insert whatever action here).' There are so many different scenarios where you could be possibly offended even though the statement came out nowhere close to as judgmental as it sounded.
While I'm not immune to these feelings, I like to think that I am very laid back when it comes to my parenting style. As long as my kids aren't being physically hurt, hurting someone else, breaking something or getting in trouble with teachers/law enforcement.....it's not worth my time or sanity to be constantly on them about something. Don't get me wrong, I believe there's a fine line of respect for your surroundings and chaos. To this I admit that things are handled very differently at our house compared to another house or out in public.
Anyone that has been to our house, especially since the move, has quickly realized that all bets are off when it comes to children playing. There's a lot of yelling, running and loud playing in general. And that is okay with us! Playing, especially at such a young age, is learning. Luckily no parents have ran screaming from our house yet and I prefer to not know what is talked about in the car on the ride home! Most of their kids are just as crazy and loud as ours. I'd like to think that our friends appreciate the ability to let our kids run loose and blow off some steam.
During that time the adult folk partake in some yummy beverages while the guys are usually watching a sporting event of some sort and the gals are sitting around the table talking. On rare occasions we have a bonfire outside as well. Our ability to ignore the craziness is amazing! Eventually a kid or two might start crying. At that point we all stop and take a listen until we decipher which family that cry belongs too. You might think we're asking for trouble but actually they play really well.
Something that that we're lucky that's uncommon is confrontation. We tend to step back and let the kids figure things out themselves. I will admit that we can't hear what they're saying most of the time but think about it.....can you really take what a little kid says at the complete truth? What comes out in words is rarely what is actually meant. Their ability to fully communicate isn't 100% yet. Case in point...my son thought that hot dogs were made out of wild dogs. No joke! When I told him that wasn't the best idea to tell people his response was 'Well the word dog is in the name. What are hot dogs made with then?' Poor Isaac will probably never eat a meal at our house unless his mom brings peanut butter sandwiches with!
Majority of the families we spend time with are a lot like us. In those instances I'm sure most people appreciate that we live in the country out of earshot. More than a few times we've wondered if a kid is going to fall through the floor upstairs. Thank goodness our house is built solid with being built in 1905!
Yes our house usually looks like tornado came through the next morning but at the end of the day, our kids (as well as us adults) have a great time. We love our friends and their children!!!! So if you come visit, be prepared for everything opposite of a quiet time, great company.....and a late night.
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