What's different from your parenting compared to your parents parenting?

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The thing that sticks out to me is I have made a conscious effort not to talk about weight, body image, etc in a negative way. I was effortlessly thin as a kid/teen and still had a negative body image because I watched my mom obsess over her image and weight. I’ve had to be firm with her about my expectations around my kids. So far I think I’ve done well.

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I didn’t realize this but how much my husband is involved in the care of my child too! [name_f]My[/name_f] dad apparently had less to do with us a babies than I thought— which doesn’t make him neglectful (he is an amazing father and he was always there for us as kids and now as adults) but definitely has me respecting my mother that much more.

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[name_f]My[/name_f] parents had an authoritative parenting style - my mother often remined me that she was not my friend, she was my mother. [name_f]My[/name_f] parents never really hit me or anything like that but I feared them and never felt as though I could talk to them about anything. I find with my children there’s alot of communication between us. They know they can come to me about anything, and while I’m their parent first, I’m also their friend.

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I was hit as a child as a form of discipline. It was the late 90s, early 00s, so it wasn’t uncommon. I don’t do any of that with my kids.

Ugh, I remember being chased around and whacked with wooden spoons as a child. Same time period. Spanking was so normal back then…I don’t hit my boy either. I’m so sorry you had to deal with the hitting, too :frowning:

Limiting this to just one thing…

boundaries. That just wasn’t a thing when I was a kid. You did what you were told and had no say so in what or who you were exposed to, where you went and so on. So much was done to keep the elders happy…I found out as an adult that my mom didn’t even want to go to events or like some people we were around but feared the reaction she’d get if she refused. With my son, we don’t cart him around to endless events. People aren’t allowed to use him as a photo prop or a pawn. He’s allowed to tell people no. He doesn’t have to hug or kiss anyone. We don’t travel for holidays and mess up naps, etc.

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