Ask a 20-Something
Parenting from the perspective of the parented!
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!
love this! as a 20-something sometimes I feel like I might be the youngest person who listens to the podcast but I've always loved Busy as an actor and her perspective on life so I'll keep my eyes on the comments too and help share my non-white non-cis non-male POV!! (editing because I want to add that since listening to the podcast, I've come to love Caissie and your perspective as well! you've both helped shape me into a better human and my father—who is a listener—as well!)
Okay, my 17 year old is about to be a senior and is applying for college. How do I hit the sweet spot of not irritating my whole family with my helicopter mothering while still ensuring he actually has a list and meets deadlines? I want this to not be a sucky experience for us all!