Long time no see my friends! Whew, what a crazy start to the school year!! I really shouldn't even be writing this, I have a paper due but what the heck! Everyone needs a little release now and then.
A couple things have happened to me or around me recently and it got me thinking, what are our responsibilities as parents? I don't mean the big things like discipline, teaching them about our Savior, or education. I'm talking about the little day to day things or things our society tells us are our or aren't our responsibilities (is that too many letter i(s) in that word? dang). Anyway, I know some of my friends read this and I am going to share your stories without asking. Please don't give yourself away in the comments and we'll be alright. Also, I have no problem with your lives or these situations, I'm just using them as examples.
The first one is about me. My parents never gave me a "real" copy of my birth certificate. I didn't realize this as it was old and folded up and looked authentic. It wasn't until my spouse and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas that I realized it was a copy of my birth ceritficate. The port authority almost didn't let me go but I pulled out the "I'm so innocent and I had no idea look" and they let me get on with a warning to get a passport. In my parent's defense, they also didn't know it was a copy. The real one is floating around somewhere, we just don't know where. Anyway, my parents are visiting my birth state soon and I asked them to drop by vital records and get me a real birth certificate. The response I got was, "That's not my responsibility but I will try" (responsibility has too many i's) Initially, I was offended and shocked at the response. Of course it is their responsibility to give me a copy of my birth certificate! When I told my husband, he strongly disagreed. He said I'm grown and I should go get my own. So I ask you people, is it a parent's responsibility to furnish their child with a copy of their original birth certificate? I say yes! I have one ready for each of my kids and when they move out, they get to take it and all their crap with them.
The next issue I have is with laundry. As soon as my kids are old enough and tall enough to reach the buttons, they are taught to do laundry. By age 11 or so, the kids are responsible for their own dirty stuff and also for folding and putting away their clean stuff. Now, before someone calls CPS, I do help them from time to time. I help switch it and I help fold if I am not too busy. I'm also a great reminder. "Hey! Kid! Go switch your laundry!" But I have a friend who is the laundry goddess of her home. No kid is allowed to touch the machines or even enter her laundry room without permission. (ok, I'm exaggerating but ya'll get my drift) She runs a tight laundry ship but kids aren't really allowed to help. I am concerned about this and have told her so but she likes her system. So, what do ya'll think? Is it a parent's responsibility to do their child's laundry til they move out or should we have them doing their own? Obviously, I am on the "do their own" side. I don't mind sharing the laundry machines.
The third one I have is about alarm clocks. At what age do we parents stop waking our kids up and start letting them be responsible (can we rewrite that word with fewer "i"s?) for getting themselves up? Middle school? High School? College? Mid-30's? At our house, it's middle school. As soon as our kids start 6th grade, they are given an alarm clock and told to get up by themselves. We are on our 4th kid with this system and it works pretty well. But I know parents who are still waking up their college kids and obviously they are ok with that system. What do you think? What is your policy?
What else? We could talk about teaching kids their social security numbers, letting them drink out of glasses instead of cups, doing outside chores like mowing, etc. Let me hear your stories, your opinions. What is a responsibility you don't think we should have or you think we are not being responsible enough with. Oh my gosh, my "i" finger is tired!!
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