I Taught My Kids To Argue With Me
No regrets
“Because I said so.”
We don’t play that game in my house. Never have. Never will. It is one of those “adult” things that really gets under my skin. Sorry, but I was not in the business of raising drones. My motherly job has been to guide my little humans on their path to joining society and making a place for themselves.
As soon as my kids could talk, I required that they present their objections as well thought-out counterpoints. The thing is. I am human too. I try my hardest to make decisions and rules for my household based on logic, reason, and with everyone's needs taken into consideration. I will not always prevail at this. In fact, I am prone to fatigue, hunger, and a general sense of being overwhelmed. These things will inevitably result in well-intended ideas that do not meet the mark.
Like any good leader, I have expected feedback in these times. We have equal expectations of each other. If I tell them something needs to be done or inform them of a plan, there is no, “because I said so” about it. I will state my reasons, no matter how briefly. They deserve to know why. It is typically all it takes, because they are familiar with my methods.
When they were younger, people close to me scoffed. I was told these kids would become teenagers and “walk all over…
