Parent Roles - Who's Right and Who's Wrong

It's been a few days since my last post because, well, we have three kids. More this week than in past weeks I was brought back to earth as to how much work it is raising children, especially little ones. I can't wait until there's no more diapers, no more brushing teeth, dirty underwear, etc! However, I know in some little way I'll probably miss all that when it becomes a distant memory. When such children experiences approach us, we must learn to deal with them. On that note, one of the greatest struggles parents have is dealing with discipline.

In many cases I think there are stereotypical statements we can make about mother and father roles in life. However, every family's parents deal with their parenting roles differently. Growing up, my mom was the one we'd rather not be disciplined by...can anyone say "wooden spoon!" My dad liked the soap in mouth method (oops, that's illegal now in many states!), and that wasn't fun either. It's interesting that we have many more problems with children today at the same time that we've stopped allowing for real discipline to take place. Ummmm...maybe a litte ironic. But I digress. Therefore, it's important to know how you're going to handle discipline, even when the children are very young. If you don't start young, you're asking for it later. As amazing as it seems to some people, I am more the disciplinarian in our family, but I also rile the kids up more and sometimes make it difficult for them to see the "fine line." Faith is definitely more loving and nurturing, no surprise to those who know her, so we've at times not always see eye-to-eye on discipline. Honestly, this definitely creates tension, especially when you're already frustrated from dealing with your children.

Therefore, you need to not only know how you deal with discipline, which sometimes takes time to figure out, but parents need to figure out how to be on the same page. Otherwise, that stress from discipline will creep into your marriage, which definitely can be detrimental. Men, if your wife stays at home, she usually gets her routine down as to how she wants to discipline, so it's best to follow her lead. Stay-at-home moms, at the same time if you're continually frustrated with a child's behavior, maybe your husband can shed some light on a new discipline approach. Parents who both work, sometimes you will deal with discipline problems different from those of other families because you're children are sometimes being negatively influenced by other children at day care, pre-school, etc. And, let's be honest, some of your kids are doing the negative influencing. Therefore, it's important to keep tabs with the teachers, baby-sitters, etc. to know what you as parents can work on to help your child.

Just remember that while discipline is a necessary part of parenthood, do it with love, not out of anger. If we respond out of anger, as I do too often, our children will learn to respond the same way. Christ continues to love us despite our constant mistakes, so we should show that same love to our children.

Financial Tip-of-the-Day
Use credit cards to provide frequent flyer miles and/or cash options. Of course, get out of debt first. We have earned many free trips, which has been great since both our families are out of state.