Last Friday night was “pizza & ice cream night” in our house.  Nowhere to go, nothing to do other than watch the Olympics, eat some unhealthy but yummy food and spend some quality time together.  At least that was the picture I had in my head for the evening. The problem was one of my daughters was not on board with MY plan and instead told me how bored she was and how she wanted to watch “Merlin”.  I instantly went to a place of judgement thinking- this kid has no idea how good she has it- pizza, ice cream, Olympics.  I think about Slum Dog Millionaire when the children are looking through the trash heaps for something edible to eat.  Cathy and I discuss this experience at length and give some ideas on how best to navigate through such a situation.

What would you do if your kid decided to switch from Spanish over to French?  Well that’s what mine did even though I view it as less practical.  It was a test to my overly-logical view point as well as my parenting.  How would you react?

We also discuss the book All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior.  The research now shows that we are busier than ever and how that can affect our psyche.  We distinguish between helicopter parenting and being a “super” parent.  Last we discuss how joy is one of the more difficult emotions to own.

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