Parenting

So I have 5 kids. My oldest daughter is a teenager who will be entering high school in the Fall. That will bring with it a myriad of challenges I'm sure. I'm not quite sure I'm prepared for them, but I'm not really worried because she's a great kid with a good head on her shoulders. Every parent says that, right?

So it's now common knowledge that my brood has grown a little bit, again. My wife and I welcomed our 5th child, our second girl, to the team a little over a week ago. All are doing amazingly well but as far as my own mother is concerned you would think this was our first child.

So we had family visiting this past weekend, which means there were more kids to add to the fun. One of the grown-ups suggested an activity and my brood got excited. For the rest of the day I felt like the worst parent in the world.

So we've cleaned up from Christmas, sort of. For some reason candy has become a part of the holidays so there are still wrappers strewn about the house because my kids can't be bothered to clean up after themselves. Oh yeah, my kids. Did I mention they're home from school for another week? I don't have much hair left to rip out.

When your child needs to be punished, how much is too much?  How much is not enough?  What actually works and reverses the undesirable behavior?  How many kids are getting a free ride because their parents want to be their friend as opposed to their parent?

Everyone loves dressing up for Halloween but we know it's really all about the candy.  As a responsible, caring parent it's my job to police my children's candy bags and confiscate some of it.  Right? At least that's what I tell myself.

I was at swimming lessons with my youngest the other day and one of the neat things the instructor does when encouraging a 3 year old to get in the water on a 'bodyboard' is to tell them it's a sandwich and they can put whatever they want on it.  Most kids, like mine, say something like grape jelly.

You think your dad embarrasses you in public? Wait'll you see this guy.

So...school has started.  There are pros and cons to that of course, especially if you have 4 kids.  I don’t think that I expect a whole lot as a parent, but I’m made to feel like I’m completely unreasonable.  I suppose that comes with the territory; Although, I was a saint as a teenager.

Some schools have already begun their fall semester.  My kids happen to be going back next week and although I’m happy about it, I’m also a bit anxious.  My brood has had a busy summer but they’ve been at each other something fierce in the past few weeks ...