What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

Rule Breaker Or Rule Follower: Which Are You?


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Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower? Are you married to your opposite? We're both rule followers, and when one builds a life with someone who sees the "NO DOGS IN THE LAKE" sign as an invitation to let the golden retriever go for a swim, one is caught between two bad choices: swallow the horrible anxiety that others might think *you* are the sort of person who has zero consideration for clearly posted signage, or be the stick in the mud who can never loosen up a little.

In this episode we discuss why both kinds of people exist, and bump up against each other– and

  • why the "no rules pool" isn't as fun as it sounds
  • how rules limit possibilities, good and bad
  • why humans tend to create more rules during and after times of struggle
  • whether kids are born to be rule followers

  • It's worth the struggle to find the balance for our families. In order for our kids to have the secret thrill of breaking a rule, there need to be a few rules there in the first place.

    Here are links to some of the writing on the topic that we discuss in this episode:

    Michele Gelfand: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World

    jthreenme: Raising a Rule Follower When You're Married To a Rule Breaker

    Diane Spear: Play By the Relationship Rules!

    Michele Gelfand for The Guardian: Why countries with 'loose', rule-breaking cultures have been hit harder by Covid

    Wikipedia: Rumspringa

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    What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny MomsBy Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

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