Loosen Up

I was talking to Serena last night while she was looking for a movie for her and her daughters to watch. She asked me where Shorty was and I said, "In bed! His bedtime is 8:00!" She said, "But it's Friday night!" I said, "Yes, but I'm tired! He needs to go to bed at 8 so I have my time." She said that she lets her girls stay up as late as they want on Friday nights...watching t.v., playing video games, surfing the net, whatever. I said I limit t.v. because I think his time would be better served reading, there are no video games in my house (children should go outside & play to develop their imaginations), and until I finish getting Net Nanny installed, surfing the net is out of the question. She said she thought she was selfish, but I take the cake.

Serena commented that my parenting style is very strict (something I used to complain about with my parents), and that he might be happier if I let loose a little bit. I remembered how much I wished my parents would let me be free, so Shorty's in the living room right now watching Nickelodeon. I used to watch Nick all the time as a kid. A lot of my off humor is rooted in YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON TELEVISION. Every time I wake up in the morning and see a bright blue sun shiny day I think about that dungeon the kids of the Canadian cast used to be chained in..."Blue skies...Barthy burgers...Girls!" I don't want my son to be as rebellious as I was, so I've realized I need to loosen up and trust God to guide Kidlet as he grows up.