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Feb
22
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 Do you fall into the “helicopter” mom or “free-range” parent category? While I consider myself more of free-range parent, the current debate between the two camps over issues of safety, creativity and independence are worth talking about. I’ll give you a real example from my life. Today I noticed my 26 month-old daughter disrobing and removing her own diaper. I had to stop her just short of wiping and changing herself. My first thought was: If she’s willing to clean and diaper herself, what the heck is she still doing in these things anyway? | |||
Archive for the ‘Parenting Styles & Roles’ Category
Blog Posts by The Warrior Mom
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Jan
13
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A recent article in the Wall Street Journal called Why Chinese Moms are Superior has the blogosphere on fire. In it, author Amy Chua maintains that Chinese mothers’ methods of parenting her children — including no playdates, no choice over extracurricular activities, no TV or video games, no sleepovers and no dating — raises more successful, academically superior kids. Ms. Chua’s two daughters are not allowed to get anything less than an A in all of their subjects except for gym and drama. Her other methods of discipline include telling her kids they are garbage and “shaming” them into getting better grades and, in one case, badgering her youngest daughter for hours until she learned a difficult piece on the piano. Read more » | |||
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Dec
07
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People are always asking me, “How do you do it?” They want to know how I manage to take care of 3 children with mental health issues, work full time, take care of household stuff, etc… My answer, clearly, is that I really don’t know. But I do have one open secret — I take a bubble bath every night. Does that count? I think it does! | |||
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Nov
19
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After nine years of parenting five children, I think I’ve discovered a few consistent guiding rules of the parenting game. In a nutshell: it’s all about being patient and not stressing out. No, I am not talking about the type of patience required to just grin-and-bear-it while waiting for your two-year-old to end his tantrum when denied yet another Matchbox car in the supermarket check-out line. I’m still working on that one. | |||
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Nov
17
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I once read an article in BabyTalk magazine about a woman who loves being a mother to boys and wasn’t sure what she’d do with a girl (which she ended up having the third time around). After having two boys, she got all the annoying questions about trying for a girl next. I know exactly how she felt, though. I’ve been asked similar questions. | |||
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Oct
18
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Last year when I was in Iraq, I had this odd dream. I dreamt that my oldest daughter asked me what its like to be a mommy. In my dream, I told her that it was a lot like teaching her to swim. At first, I had to show her that she was safe in the water. Then she had to learn to float with my hands beneath her supporting her. Eventually, I had to let go and let her swim on her own. | |||
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Sep
21
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A big stumbling block for parents today is discipline. Some choose to avoid it altogether, while others struggle with what is appropriate. What do you do from day to day, moment to moment? One of the things I’ve noticed over the last twenty years is that parents’ confidence in discipline has suffered. Parents are tentative when it comes to exercising discipline and, when they do, they tend to bring a pretty weak effort. | |||
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Jul
28
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When I first discovered EP, it was through an old high school friend of mine who told me about the site. I’d just experienced another Category 5 Tory (my oldest) meltdown and I was on the edge of my last nerve with her. See, my oldest has had a significant amount of upheaval in her young life. In the 5 years she’s been on the planet, Daddy has been gone for more than half her life. Mommy was gone for 18 months of it. So she’s been fending for herself, more or less, and has some challenges in expressing herself. | |||
