Parenting

Parenting is a big issue for me and I mean BIG!!!... I am 33 and will turn 34 near the end of June. I am a very open minded person, who believes that every person has a different opinion and that is great, but as my grandmother told me, "OPINIONS ARE LIKE ASSHOLES AND EVERYONE HAS THEM." Here are some issues that pisses people off when I tell them my opinion on parenting. I had my children when I was young and I remember the things that I did and didn't always tell my parents what I was doing and I did that on purpose. Do you think I would tell my parents, going to a party where alcohol will present? My parents would have fell through the floor.. No, I don't try to be kids friend but I DO REMEMBER what is was like to be TEENAGER and that is why I am glad I had my kids when I was young. Yes, as a parent you do want your children to do better than you did, but they are also gonna experiment. The question is DO YOU WANT THEM TO TELL YOU OR DO IT BEHIND YOUR BACK? So here is my opinions on some parenting issues that gets some people pissed off:

BIRTH CONTROL- Yes, I have told all four (4) of my children that when they decided to have sex to come to me and I would have them put on birth control. I have told my 3 daughters when they come to that point in their life and they make the decision to have sex and before they do have sex to please come to me and I would have them put on some form of birth control. I told my son that when he decided to have sex to come to me and if he was to embrassed to buy his condoms, to come and tell me and I would go buy them. I would rather my children didn't have sex at all BUT if they decided to that some form of birth control be used. My son had a friend who had a baby at 15 and he has seen the obstacles that has been placed in that friends life because of getting his girlfriend pregnant at the age of 15.  When my son's friend was in labor, he heard her scream and he ran the hall saying, "Mom, sex isn't worth it," and yes I hope he remembers those painful screams.

DRINKING- Umm, this is gonna make a lot of people mad but I would rather my children experiment with drinking at home instead of party. Why? If they are at party are they gonna leave with someone who has been drinking? Will they get raped? What kind of behavior mood will they be in? No, I didn't say let my children friend's drink at my house, I AM SAYING MY KIDS. I would rather my children be drunk at home, because I know what they are doing. As a teenager I never had the acquired taste for alcohol. I am hoping my children don't either. I know my son has been drunk, at the age of 11. I let my son go to beach with a friend of his and I didn't know that he was gonna get drunk, because this friend's whole family was going. On this week long beach trip, my son also smoked cigarettes. My son was not forth coming with the information but instead I heard it from the friend's mouth and what shocked me was that they friend's family said, Oh Tyler, was great. We had no trouble out of him and he was well behaved. I asked myself was great, no problem, and well behaved because he was drunk? That was MY decision to make, whether or not to let my child drink. Needless to say, my son has NEVER went on vacation with that family before.

CIGARETTES-NO. I would NEVER buy my children cigarettes.

I will add more to this, when we have our PARENTING MEETINGS in Monday's Class while fixing hair.. What a great conversation!!