A Couple Kid Pictures- Tis The Season!

[Cinnabun]

okay like i agree with both you guys, Raspberry iagree with you more (and im 17) because i know you care about your kidsand you wouldnt want anything to happen to them, and esp the thought ofan 18 year old going out with your daughter. like my parnets have thesame rule i couldnt date till i was 16, but i didnt get why i couldnt,and i started dating when i was in 7th grade. and i then found out whythey made that rule, but then my dad didnt feel i wasn't old "mature"enough to date till i was 17. (he made that rule because i kept ontalking about this guy i like and he is Mexican and my brother and iwould get into fights because i wanted to date him but my brother didntwant me to because he was mexican.. the older brother looking out forhis little sister! lol) and now im 17, and i'm dating a guy who is 13,but he's in 12th grade, (hes like really smart) and he doesnt act hisage at all, he acts like he is 18!

and then I Lub My Buns i also agree with you about the fact thatteenagers dont like to talk about alot of things that is going on, likei wont talk about 1/2 of the things thats going on with me, like i'vebecame somthing that i REGRET becoming. and my parnets dont know aboutit. but people are diff. alot of teens talk to their parnets abouteverything!


p.s Raspberry, cute family! do your daughter's model? they look likethey could be models! thats what im doing, (sending my pictures intomodeling places)

 

[Carolyn]

Danielle,

You're lucky your parents ask you how school was.

I don't know what you've been through, nor do I wish to cover it inthis forum. I will say this though. There are members here that havegone through terminal illnesses, rape, cancer, poverty, paralysis, andhave had their lives stolen from them in the split second it takes fora car accident to happen. We've had a member's soulmate dieunexpectedly and very young, a 15-year-old who's mother died two yearsago, and some of our husbands, fathers, sisters, and brothers are atwar. One of us, who never would complain, doesn't know if they will bealive tomorrow because the health of this person is so shaky. Some musttake care of their handicapped children, spouses, and/or parents.

Don't sweat the small stuff, Danielle.

You can go on thinking that nobody ever had it worse than you and yourgeneration; although I'd beg to differ as evidenced by history records.

You can think we don't understand or you can be grateful that you have the blessings that you do.

The quality of life and what you make of it is your choice.

-Carolyn

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I do have to agree with Carolyn there. Life's tooshort to brood on the petty things. Life goes on even after our parentsembarrass us butlife seems to stop after you lose a loved oneor another tragedy happens.

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

Sebastians Little Girl wrote:

I LuV MaH BuNs wrote:

Nottrue! I still have this that i am mortified about. Things from when Iwas 12 and 13 and they havnt gone anywhere. Being 17 and living in theUS is hard... In my state im not old enough to drive a car, im not oldenough to vote, im not old enough to go to clubs, im not old enough tobuy ciggarettes... But am I old enough to have my own say, i am oldenough to make a choice, i am old enough to fight for what i belivein... Parents dont know the half of what kids 12-17 go through. It'snot easy to talk to your parents about things like sex, drugs, smokingand stuff like that. I know what I know from good and bad experiences,I don't think I've ever had the birds and the bees talk with myparents. But when it comes to serious things I can. When i was 12 afriend of mine killed himself that was easy to open to my parentsabout, when my aunt and grandmother died that was easy to open upabout. Things tha affect both parent and child are easy to talk aboutfrom my point of view... but when it comes to peer pressure and "teenage problems" its not that easy. Adults think they know whats going onin our heads. They dont... I will lay on my bed and talk to Brindleabout things that I wont talk to my parents about, for the very reasonthat she cant talk back or tell anyone (except Benji, S'more, Moo Shuand Chippy. But, I don't think they will be talking anytime soon.) Whenyou ask your kids "How was school?" and they say "Fine." its becausethey are not telling you something... take it from a teenagers point ofview... we dont talk even when you do... when we are ready to talk...we come to you...

Sorry, I didn't realize I was on under Sebastian's Little girls name- :?

Okay, I switched to my own username....


I understand what you are saying becauseI grew up with friends who had parents like you are describing and mykids have some friends who have parents like you are describing. I'vefelt the feeling you are feeling and I've talked to kids who arefeeling them. I'm just telling you that my kids don't have to gothrough it to the extent you are describing. I know it's unusual and itmay be difficult to believe, but short of having each of my four olderkids sit down at my computer and type you a message, you will just haveto take my word for it.My home is a"safe haven" formy children's friends. I've had suicidal kids take refuge here while weworked through it, kids who came here to take a home pregnancy testbecause theyhad no where else to go where they felt safe.I've sat up all night andwatched over a drunk teen to makesure he wasn'tin an alcoholic coma so that he didn't have togo home. His parents were the kind who would have moved him to anotherschool if they knew he had drank a drop. I've stayed up all night onAOL instant messenger talking kids through broken hearts.

I guess all I'm trying to point out isthat even though I have an incredible relationship with my children andtheir friends, I still have to be a parent. It is my job to protect mychild. I make mistakes. Kids don't come with instruction books. When Iknow better, I do better. My kids know my ways, and if I seem a littlerough around the edges sometimes they get over it because when it comesto the big picture, we are doing great.

Raspberry

 

[I LuV MaH BuNs]

i think i am going to delete my account now

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I think you are doing a very good jobRaspberrySwirl. Teenagers are not the easiest to get along with but youseem to be doing a fine job. If it works, keep doing it!

I have to admit that our town could use someone like you around. Youunderstand teenagers, you look out for them, you respect their privacy,and you welcome them openly no matter what the circumstances. I don'tknow any parents like that.

But one another hand, I do have to agree that some parents lose sightof what it's like to be a kid. They don't sympathize, they don't give alittle lea-way when it comes to some things, they just don't show ageneral understanding of what it's like to be a teenager in today'ssociety which is no easy task. I'm not using that as an excuse, but Ido believe it's parents like that that end up having problems withtheir teenagers.

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

I LuV MaH BuNs wrote:

i think i am going to delete my account now

What on earth for? I don'tunderstand.....No one is arguing with you over anything worth leaving aforum that is based on a love for bunnies. Actually no one is evenarguing with you. We were having a discussion. I'm sorry if you feellike you have been ganged up on. Others were just voicing theiropinions as well. Let's just end this discussion and go back tobunnies, okay?

Raspberry

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I LuVMaH BuNs,

No worries! See you have purely the typical teenager view of parenting.I know my sibilings probably thought the same. However, my parentsgenerally stay out of my life so I don't really have bad experienceswith my parents and it allows me to be open to a parents point of viewmore easily.

I'm almost 17 myself and I'm sure I would hate my parents budding in mylife but I think RaspberrySwirls way of parenting is a great way. It'ssort of the teenager and parenting way. You befriend your kids, butstill act as the parent. It appears to be working very well.

I'm not a typical teenager, I don't hate my parents yet, lol.

 

[Elf Mommy]

I used to be a lot like you, Raspberry. I workedwith a lot of teenagers and they knew they could come to me wheneverfor whatever...

Then I got divorced...

In court, my exhusband dragged teenagers up on stand totestify...reluctantly...about me taking them in when they were drunk,making sure they were ok until they could go home... about me makingthem think about safe sex, when their parents didn't know they werehaving sex at all...

etc.

He made it sound like I was some evil person, keeping things from theparents of these children, encouraging them to drink or have sex at anearly age. None of which was true, of course. I just wanted them to besafe if they made that choice.

Ah well...

I don't get as involved anymore

I'll stick with animals.

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

I know what youmean. You do have to tread a thin line. All thekids know Iwon't lie for them. They also know that if I ever feel they are indanger I will go to their parents. I would want other parents to do thesame for me and my kids. I keep an open line of communication with theprincipal and the counselor at our high school also, just to try tocover my bases.

You are very right about the animals! They listen so well, they don'ttalk back (most of the time) they don't rat you out....very good pointthere Elf Mommy!

RaspberrySwirl

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

As I like to say:

Animals - natures councelors