Lately, I’ve been thinking about the parenting things I did right because those are in a much smaller number to consider than the things I did wrong. One thing I made certain of was that our house was child-friendly. And it made me wonder if any of you also grew up in a house that wasn’t actually child-friendly. So, here’s my Top Five Signs You May Not Have Grown Up in a Child-Friendly House. Let me know if there are more to add to the list!
- The bathroom had hand soap and towels you weren’t allowed to use. You also had to instruct your friends they weren’t allowed to use them.
- Your toys were stored in the garage or your room. Before dinner, all toys had to be removed leaving no trace of children playing.
- You had a family of six and a table that only sat four.
- The family motto was “children shouldn’t be seen or heard”, especially when the ‘rents had friends over. Although, you were bribed with pizza and coke and allowed to watch TV in your room and stay up late.
- Friends were discouraged from coming over unless your mom had at least 48 hours notice.
Truthfully, I had a great time as a kid. We played outside (saving the whole shifting of toys before dinner) and came home when the lights came on. I lived in a suburban area with parks that I could ride my bike to and play with friends there, and none of us were accompanied by an adult. As a parent, I made sure our house was the one where kids played so I could keep an eye on them because times have changed. My house was/is a lot messier than my mom’s, but I didn’t have Donna Reed or Mrs. Cleaver as standards I was supposed to live up to.
Parenting is hard. We all make mistakes. I look back and laugh at the weird things my parents did, and my kids tease me about some of the weirdness I tortured them with. *cue, It’s The Circle of Life music. What about you? Did you have non-child-friendly things at your house?
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