I agree whole-heartedly. One thing a lot of "young" parents have issue with is discipline- they want to be the "cool" parent, they don't want make kids do what they don't want to do- clean their room, do their homework. You'd be surprised at how many parents come into Borders asking for Cliff's Notes or audiobooks for an assigned reading. I'll tell them "the book is great," or, "As your bookseller, I will say that these are meant to be used in conjunction with reading the book, not by themselves." The parents usually say "yeah, but he hates to read, and I really can't bring myself to making him- I just want to be the cool parent, you know?" A lot of parents want to be their childrens' best friends, which is really selfish on their part; kids don't need a best friend, the need a parent. That doesn't mean you can't be loving, or playful, which of course you already know.
Something to think about- it seems like Ethan has a lot of sick days, but that could just be my perception. My sister has "phantom" stomach aches, and stays home sick a lot, and doesn't keep up on her homework as a consequence. With her a lot of it is psychological, and I wonder about Ethan as well.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-01-03 06:24 pm (UTC)Something to think about- it seems like Ethan has a lot of sick days, but that could just be my perception. My sister has "phantom" stomach aches, and stays home sick a lot, and doesn't keep up on her homework as a consequence. With her a lot of it is psychological, and I wonder about Ethan as well.