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June 2011 Munchkins

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What is your Parenting Style?

Kymberly - posted on 04/27/2011 ( 3 moms have responded )

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-I did NOT get an epidural with Harmony and I don't plan to this time either. Its a personal decision and as long as its not having a negative effect, its what I am doing. I believe its best for MY children. I totally respect and understand others for getting them, but its not what I am doing.

-I AM breastfeeding Rora. I believe its the best thing you can do for your child IF you can do it. However..

-I tried breastfeeding Harmony and ended up quitting after 3 months. She was a formula fed baby after that and she is and always has been PERFECTLY healthy. NOTHING wrong with formula.

-I start rice cereal at 4 months.

-I give my child juice starting at 11 months.

-I use disposable diapers. First of all...I LOVE them. NEVER have had a problem and Harmony has NEVER had a rash with them. I understand your carbon foot print issues and all that...but its not what is best for MY family. Don't even try to tell me that you've done a million hours of research and everywhere you read says cloth is best and disposables cause rashes and blah blah blah. Its BS. Plus...I refuse to deal with poop more times than I have to. Disposables all the way here.

-I do NOT do organic. If something is on sale and it happens to be organic, then that is what we get. I refuse to spend an extra 25-100% more just for the "organic" label. Nothing wrong with things that aren't organic.

-I don't use hand sanitizer or wash my hands religiously. Therefore, I don't and won't ever make my kids do it like crazy either. Their immune systems need to get some germs to grow and be strong.

-That being said, if my kid is sick, I do NOT take her to interact with other children. That is rude, mean and purposely spreading diseases and such. Its gross enough for your own kid to walk around with snot dripping down his face...My kid won't be "that kid" wiping her snot on other's toys and clothing. Gross.

-I do sanitize bottles, breast pump parts, etc....once a week. Its ridiculous to me to do it more often. A simple wash with hot water and soap is plenty.

-Harmony uses a blanket as her comfort item.

-Rora can pick her own comfort item..whether thats a blanket, thumb, stuffed animal, etc...she can pick.

-My children will NEVER have a binkie/paci period!

-After 10 months, Harmony was off a bottle and only used sippy cups. A little earlier than I planned, but I was thrilled. None of my kids will ever you a bottle past 12 months.

-Harmony has and will continue and Rora will get ALLLLLLLL their vaccinations. ALL of them.

-I refuse to push potty training. When they are ready, then we'll proceed and never look back. Until then, I refuse to push it.

-I will NEVER put my kids on a leash. They are NOT animals and I will not treat them as such!

-Public schools all the way.

-My kids will NOT be raised in a church. We'll teach them about the bible and they'll know all the stories and such. But I will NEVER force religion on them. I will NEVER force them to believe one point of view is the best and only right way to see things. When they are old enough, they can decide if they would like to attend church or any other religious activities they wish.

-I won't let Harmony wear short shorts, belly shirts, shirts you can see her boobs, etc... My children will dress modest.

-Harmony sits in time out, gets her hand popped and occasionally even gets a spanking when she misbehaves. Rora will too.

-I will NOT allow my children to drink before they are legal or to do drugs.

-My children will NOT smoke ciggerattes.

-I won't ever force my children to or make them feel like they HAVE to go to college.

-I let my kids get dirty, splash in puddles, etc. They're only kids once.

-I will use both homemade food and jar baby food for Rora. I did with Harmony too.

-I let Harmony cry it out. Rora will too.

-I will NOT co-sleep with my children.

-I am NOT a baby wearer.

-I will NOT breastfeed Rora past a year old. I do NOT want her remembering that.

-My children will NOT have cell phones when they are ten. Probably not even until they are in high school.

-My children will NOT go to day care. I am a SAHM.

-Harmony bites her nails. His father and I do too. Its not a great habit by any means, but there's nothing wrong with it. I will NEVER dip her hand in any kind of liquid or chemical or pepper to prevent her from continuing this.

-I do NOT leave my kids with sitters. I have occasionally left Harmony with my mother but I didn't become a mother for other's to do my job.

-I will let my kids drink juice, soda, etc (in moderation).

-I won't allow my children to use language like "balls, dick, tits, etc" or swear until they are well over the understanding age and at least in HS.

-I am a young mother. And I LOVE that I have children so young.

-Harmony plays with trucks, cars, etc. If Rora would rather play with those over barbies and babies, she is welcome to also.

-I refuse to buy "My Baby Can Read" or Baby Einstein, etc...My child can and will learn at their own pace.

-I feed on demand until 12ish months. Then a pretty regular 3 meals a day with snacks.

-My children will NEVER be homeschooled.

-My children will never need anything but their every want will NOT be met.

-I don't know how I feel about medication for children for ADD, etc. IF we ever come to that hump, I will make the decision I feel is best for MY child.

-I would love to have a planned home birth. But my Hubby is too freaked out by it.

-If my 3rd child is a boy then he will be circumsized.

-My children aren't allowed near certain family without me. I don't care if they are family or not..some people will NEVER be allowed near my children alone.

-I won't force my children to play sports, join clubs, etc.

-My children will NOT be racist.

-My children will be taught to see other lifestyles with an open mind (same sex partners, etc)





Honestly...I'm not trying to be rude :D this is my parenting style and I would love to hear everyone else's! :D

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3 Comments

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Nicky - posted on 04/29/2011

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Love this post! I am so sick of hearing everywhere what is the best thing to do for your children. No two children are alike, not even identical twins. What works for some, doesn't work for others. Also, what works for some parents doesn't work for others. I'm sick of having extremists push their beliefs about child-rearing down my throat! No one else is home with my son every day, so no one else can know what he needs.
That being said, we are pretty close in our styles.
-I am struggling with the decision of whether or not to breastfeed my new baby. I had a terrible experience with my first. I breastfed for 5 weeks. He never latched on, whether it was him or it was my body, no one was ever able to tell us. We had to use a nipple shield every time we fed. He also did not gain weight for three weeks after he was born, so we had to supplement with formula. Therefore everytime I would breastfeed, he would cry for a few minutes because it was not a bottle. I know that breastfeeding is best and that no two experiences are the same. I will probably try again with my next one, but I will not push it as long as I did my last one. We were both miserable with it for weeks and were so much happier when we switched to the bottle.
-My son used a pacifier until he was about 18 months old. After he was a year old, he was not allowed to use it for anything except bedtime. I had no problem letting him use it as a baby, because it has been linked to reducing the chance of SIDS (which is something that scares the crap out of me!). But I did not want him to be one of those toddlers walking around in the middle of the day with one in his mouth. I have even seen kids as old as 5 walking around with them. 18 months is probably the latest I will allow any of my kids to use one.
-I'm trying to keep an open mind about how my children will act when they are older (preteens, teens). My husband has very specific views of what he expects, but I know that kids will be kids. The more strict I am, the more they will probably push their limits. I plan to worry about that when I get to it, and picking my battles on what is truly important.
-Also, I do let family babysit my son. I had no problem whatsoever leaving him with my mom, as she already has 6 older grandkids and is a nurse, so I know that she will be able to handle anything that happens. It was longer before I allowed my husband's parents to babysit. My son is their first grandchild and I worried about what they would allow him to do. For quite a while, I left them very detailed instructions and called to check in pretty frequently.

Michelle - posted on 04/27/2011

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i love how honest you are. we are alot alike also. i am a young mom and really the only thing we are different is i breastfed untill abby was 8 weeks because i dried up from working and we only cosleep with there is a bad storm because she is terrified of thunder. also i had a epidural with my first and im going to try to not get one this time around and i use a leash but my daughter loves it and actually will carry it herself but it keeps her close to us since she is not scared to run up to strangers.

Amanda - posted on 04/27/2011

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Haha, Kim, you are pretty much a woman after my own heart :D The only things that are different in our 'lifestyle/parenting style" are:

- I didn't have the epidural with my first, and more than likely wont with my second UNLESS I labor longer than I did with my first. I believe in taking a pain killer if I absolutely ABSOLUTELY need it, but will be holding off as long as possible.

- We start small amounts of juice at 6 months. Very, small amounts.

- We use/carry hand sanitizer on us, however, we only use it as necessary.

- We use pacifiers. With our first, and with this baby. When they are ready to wean, they will wean.

- We allowed our daughter to self wean off the bottle at 14-15 months. We will do the same with subsequent children.

- If we're in a heavily crowded place that requires a 'leash', then we will be using it. I'd much rather know that my child is at the end of a leash, than look away for one second and look back to find him/her gone.

- The hubby and I are contemplating home school. While we feel that public schools offer good child to child interaction, we both feel uncomfortable with the current school systems and feel that home schooling would be just as beneficial if not more beneficial than public schooling.

- When they become teenagers, they will be forewarned about the consequences of adult behaviors before they are of legal age (drinking/smoking/sex), however, the issue will not be pushed. Children will be children, and I would much rather know that my child trusts me with the fact that they are doing such things, than have them trying to hide it from me.

- We co-sleep.

- We baby-wear.

- I will breastfeed for as long as possible, but the cut off is two years of age, if we even make it that far. Our daughter made it to 4 months.

- I flat out refuse to send my children to daycare, and I refuse to let anyone beyond her father, my mother, and my brother and grandmother (jointly), watch her. This is more of a trust issue with anyone outside of my or my husband's comfort zone, than it is me choosing to be a SAHM or me being their mother.

- We practice child-led parenting mainly. Nothing will be forced (ie: learning and developmentally wise.)

Annnnd, I think I caught everything that was different between our styles...xD

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