Are you sure it’s related though?

Maybe you did other things right too. Like listening to them. Spending time with them. Passing your genes. Who knows what else. Maybe you’re "just" great parents.

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28304283409234 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

We are. I think. :) We have a great many faults and suck at a great many things. But parenting is not one of those.

We decided early on to treat them as inexperienced tiny teammembers. So many little tricks and nuances. Learned a lot from the book "How 2 Talk 2 Kids".

Like: don't refer to yourself as "Mommy" or "Daddy". Instead use "I": "I'm going to cook dinner now", not "Daddy's going to cook dinner now".

Or: don't tell them what to do, but point out the problem: "Oh, look, those shoes are now blocking my way to the kitchen. Could you help me out?"

(Use that last one at work too. ;-))

But yeah - tiny teammembers because we are a team. We are not against them. Therefor they don't need to fight us. Instead we fight alongside them. And they seem to realize that.

But I'll post back in this thread in 15 years and we'll see how it all turned out by then. ;-)

	▲	grvdrm 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I don't know if I follow your exact philosophy but one thing I've never done: baby talk. Kid talk? Whatever you want to call it. I talk to my kids like I talk to other people. "Go to the bathroom" is the notable example. By no means a pro and many flaws in my process. Frankly, I think the best thing you teach them is not how to do or not do anything but instead the implications of thoughts and actions and what it means to handle and feel comfortable with their choices. Mine are 8.5 and 4.5. They watch TV like plenty of kids. Rarely used iPads, and my older kid uses a laptop here and there. I will not let them use my phone casually. But I don't think that them not using it is teaching them much about the phone. Instead it's about opportunity. Do something else! READ, draw, write, sketch, paint, run, craft, build, talk. I'm working on teaching my oldest how to be, well, bored.

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talon8635 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I think I can handle the things you mentioned, except the genes part. That’s what may screw us in the end. And I’m not actually joking :(

Not talking about physical ailments, just tough personalities (mine)