Lazy Parenting

At what point did lazy parenting become acceptable?  No, I'm not referring to having a pj day.  I'm not referring to wearing yoga pants to pick up your kids at school.  I'm not referring to sleeping in on the weekends.  I'm not referring to having a lazy DAY.  I'm referring to having a lazy parenting life.  Allow me to elaborate:

I'm curious when our society became okay with parents deciding that 11 years old was "grown."  I'm curious when we officially gave up playing with our kids to sit them in front of the TV nonstop for the sake of convenience.  When did we decide that we would rather just "have the school take care of it for us?"  When did we decide that we needed three day weekends "off" once a month and two week vacations without the kids every year?  When did we decide that we could half-ass this parenting thing?

I'm seriously curious, here.

It is not your job to parent your child when it is convenient for you.  It is your job to parent your child ALWAYS.  Does that mean you can't have a night out?  Of course not.  Does that mean you can't order pizza because you're too tired to cook?  Of course not.  There's just a vast difference between having a lazy moment or a lazy day and making it your daily regimen.

It is not the school's job to teach your child to be a civilized, polite, kind human being; it is yours.  It is not the baseball coach's job to teach your child to take turns, be a friend or not to be a bully; it is yours.  Those people are support people in your life.  It may take a village but good kids start at home.

Maybe your child was unplanned and maybe they were planned for years before you conceived.  Maybe you're a no-spanking parent and maybe you believe in spanking when needed.  Maybe you're a breastfeeding mom and maybe you're not.  There are a million issues that separate HOW we parent but there is one that should unite us....THAT we parent.  You chose to have your child and having a child means making sacrifices for their well-being.  It doesn't end when they hit double digits and they are not grown at 10 or 11 years old.  Hell, they aren't even really "grown" when they're 18 but the country's laws say they are so you better make a real impact on who they are well before they hit legal age.

Look, I don't care about what methods you use to raise your child.  Only you know what's best for them.  What I DO care about is whether or not you're making the choice to leave the rest of us to do your job simply because you choose not to.  We are here to support you but there is only so much we can do when we don't have constant access.  If you're a lazy parent, it's not too late.  Step up and start doing what's right.  We are all here to help you out if you'll take the first step.