From Tami: Bad Language & Other Changes

When my first child was eight-years-old, she thought dumb was practically a curse word. She didn’t know any actual curse words.

When my fourth child was eight-years-old, not only did he know all the curses, he knew how to use them.

I’m kind of nervous to think about what number eleven knew by that point.

Oh, how the times change as subsequent children get older. You start out with all of these grand notions: Only educational television! No bad words! No junk food!

And then they all get older, and the youngest watches whatever the oldest ones are watching, and listens to what the older ones are saying, and eats the junk food that the older ones have managed to convince you to buy just for lunches.

We start our parenthood journeys with so many grand ideas, only to find that reality make them much harder to implement. The more kids you have, the more life messes with your parenting plans.

I definitely made sure to put certain rules in place, like not allowing cursing in the house. I made sure to keep the kids aware of the fact that many of their friends were not allowed to watch the same media that they watched, and that their parents wouldn’t be pleased if they came home with an *ahem* expanded vocabulary. But it is tough, when you have teenagers and elementary-aged kids, to keep certain things separate.

The good news about it is that the younger ones understand emotions and situations on a more adult level when they have much older siblings to look up to. Yes, they may seem to be growing up faster, but they are also growing up with examples of how to do so. Some of the bumps in the road are smoothed, and some of the growing pains are eased. Not all of them, of course—not by a long shot. But I do feel, looking at my younger ones, pleased with the adults they are slowly becoming. I’m proud of them, and I think that their older sibling are too. It takes a village (which certainly describes my brood!), and that village is full of different personalities, perspectives, and opinions.

Okay, so the kids are learning things you hadn’t intended for them to learn yet. But look at what else they are learning! Things you could never have taught them on your own. Because each sibling brings something new and wonderful to the table, even if it comes with the occasional side-effect of a new word or TV show.

It’s just one more area where we have to be kind to ourselves, I think. The kids are doing fine.

Rock on, Super-Moms.

Tami