Parenting did NOT come easy to me. First of all I NEVER wanted children….LIKE EVER…Don’t worry, my kids already know this and know that I love them very much.But in saying this how many of us really WANTED children? I believe many of you did, but I also know that many of us did NOT! I am not afraid to admit this, however in saying this I would not trade my life for the life I thought I was going to have. Your probably wondering why in the world I would refer to parenting as owning a dog…well let me tell you. There are many similarities to training children and owning a dog. You have to teach both similar commands such as No, come here, stay, etc. We go to dog obedience school in order to teach our dogs the words we want them to know in order for them to be “good dogs.” Why is it that we don’t put ourselves through some form of “parenting school” in order to correcting raise a human being? Well the answer is very simple….BECAUSE WE ARE MORONS…..JUST KIDDING, RELAX! We all come from different walks of life and different ethnicities, causing us to all believe that we should raise our kids in whatever way we see fit.

But let me say this, we are raising a generation of spoiled, self entitled little brats! In todays world, so many parents are just giving their children pretty much whatever they want in order to be their child’s friend. Why do parents care so much if their children like them? I mean we all want a good rapport with our children but it is getting ridiculous. Now, I will be the first to admit that my kids are pretty spoiled…BUT the difference between my kids and other kids their age is that my kids are required to work for what they want all year until birthdays and Christmas come around. I give away NOTHING for free. Last year my daughter wanted a new (expensive) skateboard for Christmas, and my son wanted a new phone. It was really the ONLY things they were asking for. But with such heavily priced items comes WORK! They help my husband in the yard and I barely lift a finger all year-long.

My kids who are almost 13 and 15 have been doing their own laundry since they were 8 and 10. They do all of the dishes, sweep and vacuum the house, clean their bathroom, keep their rooms clean, dust, and are required to keep a GPA in school of a 3.5 or higher. Taylor and Victoria do ALL of this without hesitation. I must sound like a drill Sargent huh? They do not put up a SINGLE fuss when I ask them to do anything because my expectations have always been the same since they were little. When they were little, lets say toddlers and early childhood years, they were required to do simple things like ALWAYS say please and thank you, be well-behaved in daycare and school, mind their manners, and do simple tasks that were age appropriate.

Like I do my dogs, I always had the same expectations for them but added responsibilities as they got older. I now have well-behaved, respectful, amazing adolescents. Of course we have our bumps in the road, but that is to be expected…they are human after all. But like your family pet you expect them to follow the rules and be well-behaved. So why are so many parents letting their kids dictate what is going on in the home? Because kids are a FULL-TIME JOB and its FREAKING HARD!!!! I have NEVER had a more exhausting job than raising these kids. When it really boils down to it they were a piece of cake when they were little! My daughter just started junior high this year and my son started high school this year. Just WAIT till I tell you the stories about my daughter the first 11 weeks of school I seriously had an emotional meltdown almost every night before bed. My son however? I told him that starting this year he is on his own. He still has to meet the criteria I have laid out for him, BUT I told him I was done holding his hand. Taylor only has 3 1/2 years until he’s 18, he must have the ability to problem solve with his teachers and peers. Of course I’m not just throwing him to the wolves, because I will help him IF he needs help.

What I am trying to teach my son, Taylor, is that his teachers are his BOSSES and his peers are his CO-WORKERS. Sometimes being stuck in a shitty class with less than desirable peers is a good lesson as to how the REAL WORLD works. He wanted to change English classes because he didn’t care for his teacher, so he had to find a new English class FIRST, then go through the proper procedures to switch classes. What was I teaching him by doing this? I was teaching him that someday, when he gets a job, that he can’t just QUIT because he doesn’t like it. He must FIRST find a new job, and make sure he is hired before he can quit his current job.

To me, raising children is NOT rocket science….you just, in essence, training them from an early age (like you do a puppy) to listen and realize that you’re the boss and that you are teaching them LIFE lessons. I have an amazing rapport with my children and they respect me. Honestly, most of my “parenting” is done. At this point its more of a guidance process. Because lets face it, this day in age kids can pretty much say F’ you and leave the house and there is not a SINGLE THING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT! However, if you build a solid foundation from the start, and stay involved in your children’s lives you should, for the most part, be a SUPER-FANTASTIC parent!