The Best of Uncool Mom

If your kids think you're cool, you must be doing something wrong…

Category: Sharing and Venting

Being a Better Parent, Sharing and Venting

It’s Cold Here Out On This Limb…

Posted on by uncoolmomdotcom

I have a friend who raised her daughter with the philosophy of never saying no, of never having her be upset for too long, of always giving her
what she wanted, no matter how crazy the request or how far the parents would have to bend over backwards to grant it.   It didn’t matter if they hurt themselves while bending
over—whatever she wanted, she got.   “I don’t like hearing the crying and carrying on,” my friend told me.   “It’s so much easier this
way.”  Hah, I thought to myself, easier now, but just wait ‘til later. I imagined the girl as an incorrigible, unpleasant diva as an adult.  

Well, “later” is here– she’s an adult now, and as far as I can see, she’s  a nice, intelligent college graduate who lives on her own;  a law-abiding,
church-going, tax-paying citizen with a good job and …

Being a Better Parent, Giving Kids Some Freedoms, Sharing and Venting

“Good for the child” is not always good for the group

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Emmie spent every afternoon last week at a girls’ science and engineering camp at Southern Methodist University
(probably the best bargain on that campus—only $50 for the whole week, and two days included lunch!). She really enjoyed rubbing elbows with professional female engineers, learning more about the
different types of engineering, working on projects, and making friends with girls from all over the Dallas area and even from as far away as Houston, ranging in age from 12-18. The only thing she
didn’t like about it, which she complained to me about every day, were the girls who talked all the time to each other and didn’t pay attention, making it hard for the few that wanted to pay
attention. And unfortunately, there were only a few who really wanted to pay attention. Emmie says that on the first day, when the facilitator asked each girl to tell the group why …

Domestic Engineering, Sharing and Venting

Confessions of a Burnt-Out Scrapbooker

Posted on by uncoolmomdotcom

Hope everyone had a nice MLK holiday weekend. I spent part of mine trying to catch up in “preserving memories”- a.k.a. keeping up with family
photos, and what a daunting task it has been!  It used to be so simple when my kids were little.   I’d snap pictures on my camera, get them developed at the
drug store, and put them in a “magnetic” album—you know, one of those with sticky pages and clear plastic to …

Sharing and Venting

A Ph.D. in Playground: Should young kids have “graduation” ceremonies?

Posted on by uncoolmomdotcom

In this month of graduations, I’ve been thinking about how, sadly, wearing a cap and gown doesn’t mean as much
as it used to. If I recall, it used to be reserved exclusively for high school and college graduations—something you looked forward to for many years, because those are graduations that deserve
Pomp and Circumstance, cap and gown, and celebrations of the highest order. It meant you’d come a long way over many years and studied hard (hopefully) to get where …

Raising Teenagers, Sharing and Venting

One Surprise After Another

Posted on by uncoolmomdotcom

Allison, our teenager, a few days ago: “Mom, why are you always complaining about
something?”

Me: “It’s not that I’m always complaining, it’s that as a parent, there are problems and issues
constantly thrown my way, a lot of stuff I’ve never dealt with before, and I’m constantly having to make decisions and take a side— and you and Emmie don’t always agree with my opinion.”

 

Sharing and Venting

Unsolicited Parenting Advice– From A Telemarketer?!

Posted on by uncoolmomdotcom

Emmie, my 10-year-old, posed a humorous question to me yesterday, as she was making her lunch and our caller ID voice (who we think sounds just like the lady from our neighborhood Chinese restaurant) suddenly filled the air.  Emmie had just heard me say, “Don’t answer it– I recognize that name and it’s a telemarketer.”  She paused a moment, pouring leftover chili into a bowl, and said, “Mom, do telemarketers like getting calls from telemarketers?” What a great question.  I wonder if they do? I wonder if they run to the phone with glee and always pick up, listen carefully, and then say something nice? 

I …

Sharing and Venting

A Nightmarish Carnival of Mayhem

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I wrote this last week for the Blogher network– thought I’d share it with you.  Enjoy!

Friday the 13th Came Early at My House

I guess, being an uncool mom, I should count myself lucky that within the past 48 hours, both of my daughters have expressed their heartfelt wish that I was dead. The 10-year-old ran outside, screeching it loudly to the neighborhood.  The teenager’s words were something like, “I wish you were in a grave so I could dance on it and sing Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!” But lucky is not exactly how I’m …