Just like they did it back then.

Yesterday morning my son’s kindergarten class celebrated Thanksgiving a week early, by reenacting the ceremonial feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians.

I, was fortunate enough to bear witness to this adorable little event where by which, the kids sat down for a historically accurate feast of goldfish and mini muffins followed by songs of turkey worship and thanks.

The kid’s electrifying performance of that old classic; I’m Thankful For My Friends At School most certainly warmed my heart, but it also got me thinking about gratitude and wondering just how thankful my 5 year old really is.

Like most parents, I have taught my children to say thank you and despite the fact that I have to remind them every so often, they have basically mastered that skill. But saying thank you is certainly not the same as being thankful and I am reminded of that reality every time my son thanks me for his iPad then immediately throws a temper tantrum  because the WiFi is slow.

The dictionary defines the word gratitude as the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful. In terms of qualities that I wish for my children to possess, gratitude is definitely up there on my list. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder is it something that can be taught?

If gratitude is in fact a feeling, one would argue that it’s impossible to teach and perhaps true gratitude only comes with advanced age and experience.

So the question for today is: Can you really teach young children to be thankful and if so, how? 

Those pearls wouldn’t last a minute in a bouncy house with my kids.

Earlier this week I made the rather heartbreaking decision to retire my yoga pants because, as stated in my post entitled: Yoga Pants & Prescription Pills, they had become the dominant piece in my lazy mom uniform. This difficult, albeit necessary, decision forced me to re-assess mommy style as a whole, and actually got me thinking about how drastically our uniform, lazy or not, has changed over the years.

Take for example, the quintessential 50’s mom, June Cleaver. Her impeccably tailored house dress and matching apron was, from what I understand, a fairly accurate representation of motherhood for the time and what I would consider her uniform.  Compare that to a head-to-toe velour sweat suit with the word “pink” across the ass and you can see just how much we’ve evolved, or how far we’ve fallen, depending on your opinion of sweats.

Now, I understand that times have changed and we as a society are not dressing as formally as we did in the 1950’s and 60’s but I can’t help but wonder, is some of why the mom uniform has changed so much because the way we are interacting with our kids, has also changed so much?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like today’s society is putting far less value on domestic perfection and instead valuing stay-at-home moms and dads who spend their time getting down and dirty with their kids.  Whether it’s volunteering at school or rolling around in a bouncy house, we as parents are no longer watching from the sidelines with a Tom Collins in our hands and our uniform may be a reflection of that.

So the question for today is: Do you think that the decision, made by so many moms today to ditch the dress and instead choose active wear, is a conscious choice for the sake of our children or as I originally claimed, the result of laziness?

Halloween Circa 1983. Just a couple of witches.

As admitted yesterday in my exceptionally classy post Porn For Parents?, I have had an ass full of Halloween crap over the past few weeks as a result of my more aggressive approach to social media.

In addition to all of the crafts and activities, an issue that has been discussed at length amongst my favorite blogs is the tradition of Trick or Treating and how the institution for some people, is, and has been for quite some time, evolving into something entirely different from when we were kids.

For example, some parents who feel safety in their neighborhood is an issue, are choosing to Trunk or Treat.  An activity similar to tailgating at a football game, families drive their decorated cars to an empty parking lot usually donated by the community or a church, and kids travel from trunk to trunk filling their bags with candy.

For others, it’s the candy that they take issue with and for them, they chose to broker a deal with their children. Cash for candy is one of the more popular options for those parents who want to minimize the calorie intake and the potential for cavities.

Reading about all of this made me think back on my childhood and what I remember of our Halloween traditions.  Like most of the authors of these blogs, I began to reminisce and frankly, long for that simpler time. A time where we could roam the streets in the dark begging for candy without any real fear or interference from our parents. A time where once our pillowcase or plastic pumpkin runneth over, we would return home for the obligatory razor blade check and promptly gorge on candy until we slipped into a Snickers induced coma.  Because that’s what Halloween is all about.  Right?

So the question for today is:  How does Halloween for your kids compare to your childhood Halloweens?  Do you fight to keep the tradition of Trick or Treating alive, or are you the type of parent who is saying ‘no’ to your kids wandering the neighborhood in search of candy and essentially redefining what Halloween is all about?  

Just yesterday when my son was playing at the park with a group of friends, I heard him scream “get her!!!” while chasing an adorable little girl around the yard. With sights and sounds reminiscent of a good old fashion witch hunt, I was mortified that my boy was the torch wielding villager leading the charge. I immediately pulled him aside and asked him why he had to “get her”? His answer of course, was because she was a bad guy. At that point, I should have recognized that my son saw this little girl as a worthy opponent able to hold her own, and moved on, but I didn’t.  What I should have said next was “okay then, go get her” what I actually said next was “don’t go get her, instead why don’t you save her?” As soon as the words came out of my mouth I was desperate to take them back. Well done Erin, you’ve single handedly set the feminist movement back about 40 years. Hillary, and the rest of the women out there smashing glass ceilings are all fist bumping in your name.

The more I replayed the moment in my head, the more I questioned why I said it and what it means.  On one hand, I agree with most people who think that perpetuating the idea of a damsel in distress is terrible for girls and boys of any age but at the same time, there is a part of me that wants to raise a man who understands the value of the women in his life and wants to protect that. So the question that I have for you today is: Should we be encouraging our boys to continue traditions like ladies first, or should we just let chivalry die?

Nothing says Family Fun like a shower.

Earlier today as I was sorting through a drawer of my son’s pre-school art, I came across an old Valentine’s Day card that he had made for my husband and I.  On the front was your standard, run of the mill hearts & such, but inside was an adorable little message.  His teacher had apparently asked all of the kids “what is your favorite thing to do with your parents?” My son’s answer, which she was compelled to put in writing, was “shower with them”.  

Once again, I had been kicked in the tits by my son’s innocence and I can remember trying desperately to catch my breath while reading it.  At some point, I was able to look his teacher in the eye and calmly say to her “we don’t all shower together” but I’m pretty certain that by the look on her face, the only image she held of our family was that of our communal bathing.  We have since moved on from that school but coming across that little reminder today got me thinking about boundaries and asking the question “at what age does showering with your kids become inappropriate?” I took to the internet in search of answers and of course, found everything from “when the parent or child feels uncomfortable with showering with each other” to a very definitive “three years old is the absolute maximum age in which showering with your children should be allowed unless both parties are wearing underpants.”  Needless to say, I am confused and now curious, to know what your take is on the issue. So without further adieu…

Today’s Open Forum for Feedback:

At what age does showering with, or being naked in front of, your child become inappropriate?