As Our Parents Age

This article was originally published in Life and Godliness for Everywoman, Volume 2.

The dilemma is real. It is heartbreaking. It is confusing. Our parents are the ones who gave us birth and who have cared for us through the years…from changing our smelly diapers to sending us to college…and now they need us to take care of them. It just doesn’t seem right the first time you help your father dress or your mother sit on the toilet. Those are things they are supposed to do for us, aren’t they? This role reversal turns our worlds upside down emotionally.

Is It Time for a Showdown with Your Kid?

The first part of this article applies best to young preschoolers (ages two, three, and four); the questions in the second half will be helpful in parenting older children as well. 

The scene: a middle-of-nowhere McDonald’s where our family has stopped for a bathroom-and-snack break while traveling.

The surface issue: a bib.

The real issue: Who is in charge—me or my 2-year-old.

Me to my 2-year-old: “You can have some ice cream like the big kids, but you have to wear a bib.”

2-year-old: “NO! No bib!” (Begins crying and tugging at bib.)

Me to myself, glancing around at all the McDonalds customers who are pretending not to stare at us: Okay, I have a decision to make. Do I let her take off the bib, or do I stick to my guns?I could just make her start over and ask calmly and respectfully if she can take off the bib, and then let her take it off, but . . . sigh. This time I need to stick to my guns. First,she’s been fighting me a lot lately. Not good.Second, I don’t want her getting ice cream all over her shirt before we get back in the car. Third, she needs to know that she doesn’t get her way by pitching fits. Fourth, she needs to learn that she doesn’t always get her way, period.