Blogger Jen Hatmaker recently had a fun conversation with a friend about parenting:
“My girlfriend told me the biggest story. Apparently, her 11-year-old son wanted to be big this week too, and in fact, not only did he treat his brothers as scorned subordinates, but when he they asked what he wanted, he said: ‘I want the authority to take care of them and tell them what to do, because they deserve it!’
well My girlfriend and her husband are NOT messing around with parenting at all. They quietly, anyway, granted his request to be big for a week, taking him out of camp (the underlings still have to go, because they’re “the kids”) and sending him to work ALL DAY EVERY DAY with theirs. father She has to get up early, shower and prepare breakfast for everyone. He has to kiss the underlings before he goes to work and tell them to have a great day and that he loves them. Must work on a typing project during office hours. He can only eat what his father eats, because eating like an adult is not as fun as eating like a child.
Do you want to be an adult? Good.”
Photo via iStock.
Hatmaker’s post went viral, with thousands of parents chipping in with their own stories of tough love, both giving and receiving.
The answers were funny, poignant, and a sign that the next generation is being raised by extremely capable, if not slightly devilish, hands.
Here are five of my favorite stories from the comments about parenting that went absolutely well:
1. Jill Duff’s mom used an embarrassing outfit to teach her sister an important lesson:
“My sister was mean to my mom. She called her and practically begged me, ‘Wear my band uniform to high school!’ She was the one who forgot her uniform in the first place. Then she said to my mom, “Don’t come to school, that would be so EMBARRASSING.”
So my mom did just that. He stood next to my sister’s car, in the Texas heat, WITH my sister’s band uniform on. All the kids who went out during the day saw it.
Gold of parenting.“
And mom was like…
2. Jessica Klick got her kids new shoes…but not the ones they wanted.
Image via iStock.
“Our 11- and 12-year-olds at the time were whining and whining and being ungrateful, saying how hard their lives were.” For the kids, the most important thing is to wear those cool Steph Curry shoes and our boys LOVE their Currys!
So, after hearing the latest complaint, my husband went to Walmart to buy white maypop leather shoes (the kind you see in nursing homes) and tall white socks. He brought those bad boys home, put them in the kids closet, and made them wear that stuff everywhere. Those devastated boys told us we were “ruining their lives”.
I may or may not have giggled like a little girl when I dropped them off at school and watched them walk the walk of shame.“
3. Marisa Rodriguez Byers says she wished her mother was dead. And boy, did he regret it.
“I was a miserable, hormonal teenager. At 13, I said to my mother, ‘I wish you were dead!’ And at that moment, he “died”, but only for me (I had younger sisters).
She completely ignored me, she didn’t talk to me, she didn’t look at me, she didn’t cook for me, she didn’t put me on the table, she didn’t wash my clothes, she didn’t take me to school, NOTHING. After 8 days I broke down in the middle of the night, went to her room, held her tightly as I cried how sorry I was and how much I loved her and that I would never say those words again. I am 41 now, I have NEVER uttered those words or anything like them after that incident.“
After a tough love, you have to embrace it.
4.Jessica Hill gave her daughter a good scare and, in turn, a new appreciation.
“I was grocery shopping with my three year old son when she decided to start screaming for ice cream. There was no reasoning with her in this hulk type rage. I swear she had super human strength as I struggled to get her out of the cart . full of groceries.
He was completely unaware of the two policemen attending this wrestling match. I was still hitting, kicking and screaming when the police officers stopped me in the parking lot. They thought he had kidnapped her. This was long before we had smartphones full of photos of our children. They tried to interrogate her, but she was still too busy throwing a fit, so I turned her over. I told them I could go with them because I really needed a break and they could follow me home to see her birth certificate, baby book, etc. They started laughing when an officer said, “They talked like a real mother!” I think they were more relieved than I was when he finally called out, ‘Mommy?’
The officer handed it back to me while the other went back inside the store to make sure there wasn’t a distraught mother looking for her missing toddler. That evening my daughter told her father that she almost went to jail because he attacked her, and I let her believe it. He did not attack again in public.”
“Uhh, ma’am?”
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
“I didn’t want to scare her, so after this experience, I wanted to make sure my daughter had a healthy respect and appreciation for first responders. Today, I’m happy to say she’s very aware and grateful to the police, the firefighters, paramedics and military personnel who serve to protect her”.
5. Erica Goodnight taught her son an incredible lesson that he carries to this day.
Photo by Mike Mozart/Flickr
“My son was complaining that he didn’t have anything to play with. So, without saying a word, I went to the garage and got a black 50-gallon garbage bag and started putting all the toys that obviously I didn’t even know they were at our house to play.
I loaded them AND him into the car and we drove to our local homeless shelter and gave it all away. single toy in the bag away To a boy who really had nothing. And you know what? He didn’t even cry. His eyes were opened to those who have nothing. Indeed, he enlarged his heart that day. And we still do. We still bring toys to kids with nothing at least once a year.”
Victory of the parents. Life lesson score.
There’s a fine line between teaching your kids a hard lesson in a fun way and engaging in “humiliation parenting.”
Making the kids wear a sign that says, “Make the boys sneak in at 3 a.m. and disrespect my parents and grandparents,” or publicly reprimanding them is a great way to erode trust between you and seriously damage the your relationship
But calling his bluff for a ridiculous demand? Or have a little fun with how you choose to correct your bad attitude? This is simply survival.
And that’s what parenting is really all about.
You can read the entire hilarious exchange on Facebook.
In the meantime, what’s your favorite tough love story?
This article originally appeared on 07/13/16
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