My biggest pet peeve about parenting

This post was inspired by Mama Kat's writing work shop. She wanted us to "stir the pot" as she put it and write about our biggest pet peeve when it comes to other parents and their parenting. I thought " oh this is a good one."  So, I started thinking  about what really gets me mad or bothers me when it comes to other people and how they parent their kids. Mind you,  I know that every parent has the right to raise their kid as they see fit,  I mean it is their kid. I would never say anything to a parent about their parenting skills, unless you ask and believe me, if you ask I will give you my honest opinion, not just what you want to hear.

So, what is my biggest pet peeve about other parents and their parenting?  I don't understand and I don't think I will ever understand how there are parents and I know a few, that don't give kids a set bed time.  I mean, lets be real, What  could a preschooler be doing up at  10:30PM?  Please explain it to me, because I, for one, don't get get it.

To some of you , this might not be a big deal and I guess it depends on the age of the kids and other factors, for example, your own upbringing.  My mom, for example, had  us in bed by 9:00PM   on  school nights and on the weekends we could stay up a little later. That of course, changed as we got older, but I remember that on school nights, bed time was 9:00PM sharp.  I didn't understand it back then of course, but I sure understand it now.

My son, as many of you may know is 3 yrs old and he goes to preschool. He's bed time is 8:30P. On the weekends, I let him stay up until maybe 9:00P, no later. Now there may be some occasions, like new year's eve for example, that he could stay up later, if he wants to, but come on new year's  is only once a year.

What gets me even more mad, is that these are  the same parents that are complaining because the kids don't want to get  up in the morning or because they are sleepy, hmm I wonder why?

In conclusion, I personally think its important for kids to have a set routine, especially on the weeknights and part of that is having a set bed time. This is pretty big at our house. Ralphy knows everything that needs to be done before bed time and he does it. There might be a little whining or screaming on he's part, but hey, he is a kid. One thing I can assure you, when Ralphy hears mommy or daddy say its bed time,  he knows we mean business and he  knows exactly what to do.

Please share your opinion. Do you think its important for kids to have a set bed time?

His not so sweet side

I think this might be one of the hardest parts of being a parent of a toddler.  My baby is a sweet boy and his well behaved, but he does have moments that when  he doesn't get what he wants, he has a total meltdown.   It doesn't really happen often, but when it happens, its pretty bad.   Well last night , at bed time we had an "episode."

We have a set routine  that starts around 7:30pm and  It goes something like this:  He drinks his milk while watching his favorite bed time show, after that its clean up time and then finally daddy helps with  brushing  his teeth.  He is usually in bed between 8:30- 9:oo PM. This is a process that takes about an hour.

Well,  last night , we were okay until daddy said that it was time to brush his teeth. He started screaming yelling and throwing  stuff on the floor, you name it , he did it.   He calmed down long enough to get his teeth cleaned, but when I said it was bed time, it started all over again.

I tried staying calm and collected,  I tried telling him that it was bed time in a nice way.   I tend to ignore   him when he gets like this and that works most of the time because  he will stop crying and he will calm down all by himself.  For some reason, last night, he was just not having it.   I  know that he seemed a little more tired than usual, but I mean, its not like we don't do this everyday.   I lost my patience, what can I say, mommy has her moments too.

When I finally got him to calm down, I explained to him that he was a good boy and good boys don't behave that way.  I told him I loved him kissed him good night and that was the end of that.

Please tell me, how do you guys handle tantrums? Do you ignore? put them in timeout? what is your technique.   If you have  advise, please share, please.