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Mean Mom 101 – Lessons Learned From My Mean Mom

Lin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:00:22 +0000

I am a mean mom. Not just a mean mom, but the meanest mom on earth. I must admit, I’m so proud of being a mean mom that I believe there should be a National Mean Mom Holiday to celebrate all the mean moms just like me.

Hearing the words “Mom, you are sooo mean!” might hurt some mom’s feelings, but not mine. Fortunately, there are mean dad’s in this crazy world too.

“Say what you mean and mean what you say” is a quote I remember hearing from my mean mom many years ago. I’ve been known to repeat those words numerous times throughout my life and I will continue to be a mean mom saying what I mean and meaning what I say with my children and grandchildren until I take my least breath.

I proudly “stand” before you today to announce that, Yes, I am a mean mom. Fortunately, I’m not alone. There is a mean-mom movement taking place across the country and other mean moms just like me are saying Enough Is Enough.

A mean mom isn’t physically or emotionally abusive to her children, but she is tough and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound like Superman bring a group of rambunctuous kids under control with a stern warning or “the look”.

Mean moms set rules and boundaries for their children. Mean moms know how to say no to her children and mean “no” without compromising or negotiating standards of behavior.

Celebrating “Mean Moms”

(Author Unknown)

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids’ also. (Picky Eaters: Getting Kids to Eat Healthy)

But at least, I wasn’t alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You’d think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we’d be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less–not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy’s pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was. (How to Discipline Children)

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends? (You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Say About You)

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us. (Are You An Enabler? Identifying Early Warning Signs of Enabling Behaviors)

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did. (A Child’s Ten Commandments For Parents)

By the time we were teenagers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I’d had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year. (Let’s Talk About Teens and Sex)

Through the years, things didn’t improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, “sick” like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks. (Sometimes Kids Can Drive Parents Nuts)

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You’re right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did.

She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults. Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean.

Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

Are you a mean mom or dad? Shout it out for the whole world to take notice saying, “I am a mean mom” or dad. How about a Mean Mom Club?! Yeah!

The Mom Song – Mum Song With Lyrics

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How to Discipline Children

Lin — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:00:58 +0000

Learning how to discipline children effectively is an important and necessary skill for all parents to learn. Discipline is not a dirty word, but is often misunderstood and misused by parents, teachers, school principals and religious clergymen who do not understand that there is a difference between punishment and discipline. If you were asked the question, “What is discipline vs. punishment?”, how would you respond?

What is Discipline?

Discipline means to teach and train children family values, right from wrong, to respect the rights of others, and how they are to behave or not behave. For example, parents discipline their child to wash their hands before meals or after going to the bathroom, thus helping a child learn to become self-disciplined in these areas and how to become responsible for themselves as they get older.

Discipline is a positive parenting skill that emphasizes nurturing, guidance, teaching and training that builds a child’s self-confidence and teaches self-control and behavior management. The better you are with discipline, the less you will have to punish.

Punishment, however, is discipline after the fact to enforce proper behavior as defined by society or family. Punishment for children, toddlers or teens who have misbehaved in some way has lead to the ongoing, controversial debate over whether to spank or not to spank kids. “Spare the rod, spoil the child”?

Some parents, school officials and religious leaders feel that corporal punishment that includes spanking, whipping, paddling, caning, hitting and slapping are examples of “positive punishment”, while others have taken the position that physical punishment such as this should be outlawed and banned as nothing more than child abuse.

Discipline techniques vary in every family and culture, but there is no such thing as discipline without punishment of some kind, especially when dealing with a strong-willed child or an unruly, out-of-control teenager. As a parent, do you have the tendency to ignore the need to discipline your child when he or she is pushing and shoving another child or being a bully towards other children? Do you habitually say “Use your words!” when your child is being mean to another child, thinking that will miraculously stop the negative behavior, then do nothing to back up and enforce your own words?

Show me an undisciplined child and I’ll show you the quickest way to teach your kids to use drugs and kids that have no respect for anyone in authority, that may bring severe punishment handed out by the court system for juvenile delinquents, due to the lack of discipline taught from an early age and throughout the teen years.

How to Discipline Your Child

Disciplining children needs to take place all the time, not just when a child misbehaves. All children are different, with different temperaments and developmental levels, and the parenting style of discipline used for one child may not work on another. If you are frustrated with trying to learn how to discipline a toddler, or how to say No to your children, you are not alone.

Toddlers often say “no” or do the complete opposite of what you want them to do, like run in the other direction away from you while laughing at the same time. Understand that this is a normal phase of childhood development where children will test or resist the parents rules and limits to see if you will “practice what you preach” and do as you say you will if the child does x, y, z.

Discipline your child with consistency, love, encouragement, praise, patience and compassion, keeping in mind that a toddler may need to hear these reminders a hundred times before finally getting the message. If you give in after your strong-willed child repeatedly argues, becomes violent, throws a temper tantrum or starts hitting, kicking, cussing or screaming, then he/she learns it’s okay to repeat this negative behavior because he knows you will eventually give in, again and again. Be consistent.

“Time-outs” can be very effective for children 3 yrs old and up, but younger children being put in time-out or on a “naughty chair” may lead to frustration and confusion. Toddlers have a very short attention span so when he/she does misbehave, forget the long lecture. Give him/her a firm “no”, along with a brief explanation such as “that’s not a toy” or “no jumping on the couch/bed” and redirect the child’s attention to an acceptable activity.

Taking privileges away, especially those the child/teen most enjoys can be very effective. Simply sending a kid to their room for a period of time to “think about” what they’ve done may not bring the results you wish for, since it’s likely that they will just entertain themselves with what they have in their room and not think about anything else.

Avoid power struggles with your children. Don’t focus on the negatives all the time, but express your positive feelings by saying “I like how you put all your toys away” or “I like how you played with your little brother/sister today”.

Give your child choices and set reasonable limits on behavior. Praise your child whenever you “catch” him or her being good, like sharing their toys or picking up after themselves, and avoid being too critical.

Teach your child that he/she doesn’t have to behave in a negative way to get your attention, but make it easier for your children to do the right thing and behave in the way you want. That’s what discipline is for.

Be a good role model for your children by not yelling and screaming at your child. Put yourself in time-out if necessary, to give yourself a break and get your temper under control. Remember: Children learn what they live.

Encourage appropriate behavior and pick your battles. Be gentle but firm with your child. Don’t make commands you don’t intend to enforce. If you say you’re going to do it, then do it.

Parents with children of any age can learn effective discipline techniques, sometimes referred to as “win-win discipline”, by reading parenting books that deal with all types of child behaviors, behavior management and positive parenting tips.

Many of the best parenting books provide excellent tips and ideas for moms and dads dealing with discipline problems at home, and advice on how to avoid discipline problems and sibling rivalry issues. Reading a discipline book or two like 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 and Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child : Eliminating Conflict by Establishing Clear, Firm, and Respectful Boundaries have helped many parents learn how to discipline children and are enjoying the benefits of a happy, healthy and peaceful home environment.

Another excellent discipline book, Parenting With Love And Logic, impresses the value of children experiencing the natural consequences of their actions (logic). The authors, Jim Fay and Charles Fay, encourage parents many times throughout the book to empathize with their children prior to disciplining (love). The ultimate goal of using the Love and Logic techniques: raise responsible children that respect authority, have a positive self-concept, and who are able to make wise independent decisions now and throughout life.

What is your opinion on the subject of spanking vs. not spanking? Do you spank your child or were you spanked while growing up? What discipline methods have you found to be effective, and which techniques were not so effective? Share your thoughts and stories by leaving a comment below.

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