My Children Will Do It Differently

It’s been quite a while since my last post. For now I want to talk about this, My Children Will Do It Differently. A few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking what should I blog about but then I couldn’t think of any so I decided to surf the net. As I was surfing, at the very first page of my search, a title caught my attention.

It’s pretty nice to know that someone is actually dedicated to write 100 Blog Topics That He Hopes You’ll Write. It’s been a sweet reference and I think I’ll be using it for the next future posts.

Iam Raisa Mejia. An 18 year old (turning 19 on February) young lady or a teen I could be. So, here’s the story...

Idon’t have my own kid. I don’t know how to raise a child, something of my own. Parent’s perspectives might be different with mine. And maybe, or not just maybe, a fact it could be, they have been through a lot in life that we, the teenagers, have never been.

A lot of times, when my younger brother brought his friends at home, one of them were taking off his shoes and left it outside. My mom said, “No, no, no. You don’t have to. We don’t have spare slipper to lend you.” – instead of wearing his shoes back, he replied, “No ma’am. We do it this way. My mom won’t let me wear shoes inside our house. I want to do the same thing even if I’m here.” Or when my mom serves fish stew for the main dish, someone will say, “We don’t eat broth fish in our house.” And now that was a jaw-dropping wow! I almost want to say, “For all I care. Take it or leave it.” But I did not.

Each parent raises their child differently. There is always a difference, but the thing is; you do it differently. Instead of being defensive when people try to point the difference – agree. Children don’t stand in front of you pointing their fingers spotting the difference from their family rules to your own rules. It’s the point of views. Some children assume that everything works according to how things are done at their house, but obviously, no. Help them recognize that not everything that works for them will work for you too. Explain them that they might have their own rules at their house, but explain them in a broader look that as long as they are staying in your house, there were rules to be followed and those are the things you want it to be.

BUT, sometimes, in some other ways, we must not judge how other people enforce their own rules. A few weeks ago, my sister went to a reunion at the neighbour’s house with her childhood friends. That was like 8 in the evening and she went back home at 12 midnight. My mom and I were still awake when she got home. There are two tables in our living room, one at the East and the other at the West. She walked straight and sat beside my mom at the west table who’s quite busy reading a book about managing a business. I heard my sister told my mom what happened at the party. My sister said, “We drank a few bottle of beers. Her brother’s friends were there too and they were having their own drinking sessions as well. I was shocked to know that their parents let them bring friends and let them drink beers.” My brother came across after he went to the bathroom and heard the discussion; he said, “Their parents never cared. They don’t even know how to raise their children.” As I can’t control myself, I joined the convo and asked, “Why did you say that?” And my brother was like, “If they were a good parent, they won’t let their siblings drink beers inside their house.” If you’ll look at the other side, you’ll see the broader view. It could be because they don’t want their kids to hide something from them like drinking and sneak to a bar and drink. If they won’t do it there, then where?

Let’s not judge how the other raises their kid. They have their own reasons. They have their own ways.

You can see the difference. You can run at the street and scream, but not inside the church. You can laugh out loud at the park, but not at the library. You can jump on your bed until the dawn, but not with your friend’s bed. Difference. And when you say differences, there are always complications.

At the bright side of being different from another, isn’t it cool or interesting that things are different from different houses? Come on! It could be a yes, or no. Yes, we find comfort when we do things according to how we actually do in our daily basis. But if you’ll do something “differently” or something “new”, it will be one of the great experiences of exploring and learning at the same time. Difference is part of life and our way is not the only or right way of doing things.

Don’t limit the things you could do. Open the door. Open your windows. Step outside and see the world.