What kind of parent are you?

[STTAB]

My children no so jokingly refer to me as Colonel Dad because I'm strict and involved in their lives.

We have a strict morning routine that includes what time everyone gets up, how long they get in the bathroom, what time breakfast is served. ALL clothing is examined and approved by me before anyone leaves the house. I do a daily morning check to make sure homework is done and gets turned in, and that nothing unapproved goes to school.

We have bed times.

My children are not allowed to go over to other people's houses unless the parents are home and I have met them.

No guests are allowed unless either my wife or myself are home.

We have weekly bedroom checks to make sure rooms are being kept clean

We have chores

We limit screen time during the week, this includes all screens.

We have family dinner together every night. Exceptions are made , but only for legitimate reasons, otherwise you are expected to be there.

etc etc

I'm definitely a strict parent, what kind of parent are you? Or for some of you fogies, what kind of parent WERE you?

[SassyLady]

Strict.

[jimnyc]

My kid hasn't left the house in 12 years. We are a little strict in chaining him in his room.

I would say that we are strict, until we're not.

We have the best of intentions and offer our kiddo the moon and more. Private school and everything he needs to succeed in life. And we have expectations. But we let him get away with a lot, but he's also now about to turn 19. So he's in that age group now where we simply don't know if we did well or not! LOL He's alive, graduated and is happy. Still at home and never been arrested. But hell, times have changed and kids don't go out anymore!

Kid was supposed to be in bed at 10pm the latest when in school. Chores daily and weekly chores. All the same stuff mainly, but admittedly we were both pushovers and allowed more than our parents allowed when we were little.

I truly believe kids NEED discipline and order in their lives, it's a MUST, even if I am no good at doing it.

[STTAB]

My kid hasn't left the house in 12 years. We are a little strict in chaining him in his room.

I would say that we are strict, until we're not.

We have the best of intentions and offer our kiddo the moon and more. Private school and everything he needs to succeed in life. And we have expectations. But we let him get away with a lot, but he's also now about to turn 19. So he's in that age group now where we simply don't know if we did well or not! LOL He's alive, graduated and is happy. Still at home and never been arrested. But hell, times have changed and kids don't go out anymore!

Kid was supposed to be in bed at 10pm the latest when in school. Chores daily and weekly chores. All the same stuff mainly, but admittedly we were both pushovers and allowed more than our parents allowed when we were little.

I truly believe kids NEED discipline and order in their lives, it's a MUST, even if I am no good at doing it.

I believe it is a must to. I think I told you about the friend of my son's who when they were 15 his dad was arrested and went to prison and his mom moved in with a boyfriend and told him that the boyfriend didn't want him around so he'd have to find somewhere else to live.

Now with parents like that you can imagine where the son was headed in life. My wife literally went to the city park and found him sleeping there and told him to get his little butt in the car and brought him to our house. He was a D student peddling drugs at school to feed himself. But he was basically a nice kid. He'd been over to the house all the time, my kid never to his house when he did have one. Not once. Nope. Anyway, the first few months were tough, this kid was used to doing whatever the hell he wanted and didn't care about his future at all.

They are 27 now, both in the Army, both college graduates.

It was tough, not gonna lie, there were days when we wanted to just kick him out. But we finally got him out of high school and talking about college. Let me tell you I was more proud of him the day he graduated college than I was of my own son who I KNEW would graduate from college before he was even out of high school.

[Kathianne]

Strict with rules, liberal in letting them think and discuss what they wanted. Some interesting discussions, but all finished schooling and all gainfully employed.

[STTAB]

Strict with rules, liberal in letting them think and discuss what they wanted. Some interesting discussions, but all finished schooling and all gainfully employed.

Oh yes, we encourage thinking and open dialogue as well. It's perfectly fine to have a differing opinion, but you better be able to show that your opinion is based on fact. My intolerance for non fact based opinions isn't strictly on message boards.

And of course, that is age dependent as well. I'm not one of those parents who believes children should be involved in adult conversations.

Some other things we practice are. If you are a child and in a chair when an adult enters the room and there are no other chairs you move, sit on the floor if you must. My children call adults ma'am and sir. They hold doors open for women and the elderly.

We also teach hard work. My children are fortunate in that we have money. There isn't much I couldn't afford to buy them , and they usually get things when they want them. But they also know the value of hard work. When I say we have chores. I'm not talking about cleaning your room, and making your bed. Those are expected.

I'm talking an 800 acre farm, there is always work to be done. A couple of weeks ago we poured a concrete slab. 20' x 20' of course myself and ranch hand did the bulk of the work, but the kids helped . They hauled off empty bags of quick crete, they sprayed water into the cement mixer , etc etc. Now in some ways that actually made the job harder (the 2 year old has to be doing whatever I'm doing, no matter what, which meant I had a 2 year old helping me operate a cement mixer LOL) but in the long run I have children who are growing up knowing how to pour cement, not because they have to but because the feeling of knowing you worked hard and accomplished something like pouring a concrete slab can't be matched by anything else.