Lazy parents raise better kids. Is this thought true? Let’s dive in and found out the benefits of being a lazy parent and how you can get started with lazy parenting today!
Last summer, Brooke Hampton (the blogger behind “Barefoot Five” shared something on Facebook that has gone viral and generated quite a discussion.
In her July 1st post, she shares a picture of her 13-year-old daughter sitting in a room- an open notebook resting on her lap, pen in one hand, cell phone in another, with an array of receipts strewn on the floor around her.
The first line of her post:
“Lazy parents raise better kids.”
Now, that’s quite the claim, but Brooke makes a valid point. She goes on to explain that she’d previously shared that photo of her daughter doing the family’s grocery budget and received quite a bit of backlash from people telling her that she was putting too much responsibility on her daughter and that she is a lazy mom.
Rather than become offended, Brooke happily accepted and embraced the title of “lazy mom”. In her mind, if encouraging her teenage daughter to practice skills that are not only beneficial to the family NOW, but that will also benefit her daughter as an adult LATER is considered lazy, then maybe being lazy is a good thing.
Our Kids are More Capable Than We Think
She goes on to say that even though she could easily handle everything for her children, she prefers giving them opportunities to do things on their own. Not only because our kids are often more capable than we give them credit for, but also because our job as parents is to raise kids who one day no longer need us to do things for them. And we shouldn’t wait until our kids are a few years away from going off into the real world to start- we should be preparing them for life from an early age.
Prepare a Child for Life
There’s a quote I love from a child psychologist and parent educator, Haim Ginott: “Treat a child as though he is already the person he’s capable of becoming”. By treating our children as though they are capable of doing wonderful and important things, we give them the courage to learn new skills and the confidence that they are able to make a difference- regardless of their age.
Refraining from teaching our children new skills simply because of their age is not serving them well. Instead of waiting for them to reach a certain age to start teaching them a new skill, just start small. They WILL make mistakes. They WILL take longer to do things that you could do in a breeze. But the tradeoff is that they are learning and growing and the skills they are developing now will carry them through the rest of their lives.
Be a Lazy Mom Today!
If you’re ready to get started on the “lazy mom” track, I’d love to have you join our SkillTrek family. We’re all about equipping our kids with an abundance of life skills to help them navigate the world – with and without us. Our program will help your kids (and maybe even the adults) learn over 500 skills! Not just cooking and cleaning, either. We teach families how to swim, about financial literacy, about good manners and etiquette, household management, maintenance, and so much more! Head on over to the Skill Trek website to learn more and start your journey towards raising wildly capable children who become wildly capable adults.
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