Search Results for: blog curfew or no curfew

Save Your No’s for the Important Stuff

How often do you find yourself saying no to your children? When they enter the teen years there comes a point in which you should reserve those no’s for the really important stuff. Parenting is not a dictatorship. And when your children enter those teen years, you have to learn to let go of the apron strings a bit. What I always keep in the back of my mind is that once they hit high school it is less about controlling (although, I actually don’t think that should ever be a parent’s goal) and it’s more about steering your children … Continue reading →

Do Not Believe The Stereotypes

Even as common as single parenting is, there are still so many stereotypes and common myths. Our children are from “broken” homes. This may be true for my marriage, it was broken, but I fixed my home and my family by getting a divorce. My family is not broken, I am not broken, my child is not broken. The same goes for “intact” family. Merriam- Webster defines family as “a group of persons of common ancestry”. We are an intact family, we are a group of individuals of common ancestry who just so happen to love each other and want … Continue reading →

No More Control?

Something I recently heard on Dr. Phil has really stuck me with me. It was about an out-of-control teen that was on the verge of turning 18. The parents had very little time left to do something while she was still under their control. Dr. Phil said something along the lines that when your child turns 18, you can’t control them but you can influence them. It’s something I am tucking away in my heart, as I venture closer to the day my oldest turns 18 (in just over two months). What about if your 18-year-old lives at home? Can … Continue reading →

Curfew is Not Negotiable

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How do you decide curfew? Are the rules any different for single parents? I get up before 5am to go to work so I’m in bed by 10pm on weeknights and on weekends I struggle to stay up any later because my body is used to sleeping at certain times. I have used my work/sleep schedule to determine Hailey’s curfew. During the week she has to be in the house by 10, on the weekend it’s midnight. She always tells me that none of her friends have curfews that early but I just shrug and say “ These are the … Continue reading →

Not Mom of the Year

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I have failed. I’m not going to be Mom of the Year again this year. Finally I am OK with that. When I was first divorced the guilt I had for tearing my child’s family apart made me too lenient. I always excused bad behavior, blamed it on the divorce, gave in and looked the other way. No more. Now that my daughter is a teenager it is more important than ever to be her Mom and not her friend. It is harder to be the bad guy now. The tears when she was 10 cleared much quicker than the … Continue reading →

Know Your Expectations as a Parent

I found myself having a discussion with my 16-year-old son this past weekend that I didn’t expect to be having. Apparently he is thinking ahead and wants to know what to anticipate when he turns 18. His main question was concerning what happens when he turns 18 years old. He wanted to know if he would have to ask permission before doing things, such as hanging out with friends. I hadn’t given it any thought; this was not a parenting issue anywhere near my radar screen so he really caught me off guard. I gave him the best answer I … Continue reading →

Another Spears Baby

Yes, it is true, there is another Spears baby on the way, but it is not quite who you expect. OK! Magazine is reporting that Britney’s little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, is pregnant. The 16-year-old star of “Zoey 101” told the magazine that she was pregnant. Jaime Lynn said that father was her longtime boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. Okay, let me stop right here and say, I know it has been a long time since I’ve been 16, but what does she mean by longtime? I think when I was 16, I was told my parents I could date…when I was … Continue reading →

Event by Event Curfew

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Although Tyler is too young for me to have to worry about a curfew, I’m always interested in hearing what other parents have to say about them. When I was younger I didn’t have a curfew. Not because I was allowed to run around at my own discretion. No, my mother was strict and we weren’t allowed to go hardly anywhere. No dances, or parties, or movies or school events. I attended maybe a dozen such events during my middle and high school years. That was the extent of my social life. I hear many parents and kids complaining about … Continue reading →

No End Yet to Sleep Deprivation

I thought that once my kids were out of diapers and sleeping through the night, I would get my own long nights of uninterrupted sleep back. But, over the years, there have been nightmares, illness, coping with various biological clocks, sleepovers and a myriad other reasons why those long, languid nights of uninterrupted sleep have been scarce. Now, with three teenagers, I think I’m getting less sleep than ever! This past Saturday night as I found myself drinking tea and trying to stay awake while waiting for my eldest to come home from a party, it dawned on me that … Continue reading →

How To Establish A Curfew

Research from the Search Institute shows that children even teenagers need boundaries. They need to have clear rules and consequences. They need parents who know where they are and who they are with. Part of these boundaries consists of establishing a curfew. Establish a curfew when your children are young. Don’t decide what your child’s curfew will be the night of an activity. If you establish the curfew so your children know what is expected before a situation arises there will be less conflict. You should also discuss what the consequences will be if the curfew is broken. Allow your … Continue reading →