When Biz & I asked all of you what you were hoping to get out of this newsletter, an overwhelming amount of you asked for parenting content! As you may know, I’m a parent! And both of my sons have reached the legal age of adulthood!!! That means I’m all done and I passed the class, right? LOL!
Ok, so I’m still parenting pretty vigorously over here, even as my children are finding their ways in this weird world that’s getting weirder by the day. I thought it could be interesting to ask my kids some questions about their experience with our parenting while their childhoods are a bit fresher in their minds than most! I also thought it could be interesting to open the floor to questions from all of you. Maybe you already have kids and you wonder if you scarred them by making them wear matching outfits with you? Maybe you’re thinking of having kids and you’re wondering how many Star Trek action figures a modern offspring considers an appropriate investment on their parents’ part? Maybe you never want to have kids and you want to know about something entirely different a young person might have intel on. That’s all fine! Eli and Lincoln have promised to share the good, the bad and the ugly and I have promised to allow them to keep living at home, even if they say unflattering things about us. I’ll also add my two cents where appropriate and maybe my partner Matt will too. We’ll try to answer as many questions as we get! (What if we get zero questions? That would be…hilarious?)
Keep in mind, every family is unique and my sons’ lens will be that of two white cis-gender guys. Guys who have struggled with the normal social issues most kids grapple with, as well as some much more serious mental health issues and physical health issues too. Also keep in mind that neither of them are 25 years old yet, and so as I frequently tell them, their brains haven’t fully grown in yet. I’m not saying that for a joke! It’s true! Pre-frontal cortexes don’t fully develop until your quarter-century b-day and that’s the *rational* part of your noodle, so that’s just something to keep in the rational part of *your* fully-developed brain when you’re dealing with a young person.
Okay, I give you Lincoln (the younger) and Eli (the older). ASK THEM ANYTHING!
Did you guys have rules / understandings about gf’s being allowed to hang out in your rooms? Any sleepovers etc? My partner is all chill about our 16 yr old daughter having her bf in her room but damn dose it make me uncomfortable. Any thoughts / opinions = appropriated!
I haven’t read through every comment so apologies if this is repetitive. In dealing with bullies or general social problems at school, what made you feel most helped and supported at home?