I should probably wait until I have the time and attention to devote to a full-blown entry on this, but I really wanted to comment about child-rearing while it was fresh in my mind.
Nobody get the wrong idea. We’re not trying for kids yet. Still, that doesn’t stop Aaron and me from discussing our potential child-rearing tips and tricks. For instance:
- As a child, I don’t think I was spanked/punished enough. Aaron feels he may have been spanked a little too much. Between us, I think we’ll have a happy medium.
- Empty threats are useless. Back when my cousin was little, and my aunt would start counting to three, my cousin would shout back, “No counting! Stop counting!” The other day, I heard a neighbor counting to their kid, trying to get the brat to come inside. In neither case did actual spankings occur at “three” — come to think of it, neither parent ever actually *got* to three. My own mother was known to get to “two and three-quarters” quite often.
- Respect is mutual. If Junior tells us the truth and doesn’t give us reason to doubt him, we won’t rifle through his belongings while he’s gone, looking for weed or booze or porn.
- Positive reinforcement good. Distraction good. Constant yelling and smacking bad.
- Sugary snacks bad. Soda-pop bad. Fast food bad.
- TV bad. We’ve seen and read about how exposing young children to television on a regular basis can actually contribute to Attention Deficit Disorder by affecting how the brain develops in the early years. The fast-changing scenes and quick cuts that are so popular in editing can cause a child’s brain to develop in such a way that it expects such things, and is physically unable to concentrate for long periods of time. (If you doubt me on this, I can go Google the study later.) Our progeny will not be allowed to watch television until the age of two.
I know there’s a lot more that Aaron and I have discussed, and I feel it’s healthier to discuss it *now* than to wait until we’ve had Junior and we’re exhausted from all-nighters with the hellian. That will be no time to make important decisions about how to raise our child.
Of course, all plans are subject to change. 🙂
I laugh everytime I read Dooce when dealing with Leta. Most of the points you have listed are very valid.
Maybe we should just stick to cats for now. Oh wait…. I have to yell at and hit those too sometimes. Ah well. Hopefully the winning sperm will take pity on us.