We jut ran a charming article on Babble by Katie Allison Granju about how, as the mother of teenagers, she's getting the chance to raise another child, having just given birth to a new baby. She calls it a "parenting do-over."Not surprisingly, I find my three older offspring to be the most special and appealing children I've ever met, and others who know them agree; these are great kids. But if I am honest, I have to admit there are some things I wish I had done differently in my earliest years of raising them. That's because, like most mothers I know, I question my own parenting choices regularly. Unlike many other mothers, however, I will now get the chance to try things another way with this brand new baby.
Specifically, she says, she intends to stay married to this baby's father and to be stricter about grades and housework.Our favorite part of the essay is her description of trying to give birth while being pestered on her cell phone by her sixteen-year-old's requests that he be allowed to go to a party.
You can read the story here, and weigh in in comments: for those of you with grown kids, what would you do differently if you got a second chance?
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 2)
16. I am in the middle of a do over. My husband and I raised three kids
successfully to adulthood, then bam, a menopause baby!
She has made me realize that the first go around, literally was an
on the job training affair. I made mistakes, but I also learned from
those; in hindsight of course.
This time, I know how fast it will pass. I cherish each and every minute
with this child, each stage is truly precious because the next stage is
just around the corner.
And it's just so darned amazing seeing my older kids with her! Our
family is closer than I ever imagined we could be.
Paige at 3:30AM on Jan 14th 2008