"Life Would Be Easier Without My Youngest Child"

[gardenswithkids]

I’m the oldest and most difficult child. … I’ve always appreciated my mother’s honesty about how I really presented a challenge to her, because instead of hearing a whitewashed tale of motherhood, I am able to learn from her reality. Children can be difficult. They can clash with their parents’ personalities, and can be a force all their own. But if you’re not honest about that, you leave people either feeling overwhelmed and unlike those “perfect” moms out there who never complain, or wondering if there’s something wrong with their child or themselves.

I found the piece loving and honest. .

You appreciate your mom telling YOU that you WERE challenging and difficult for her. That is entirely different than a blog post telling EVERYONE that her fourth child IS difficult.

What you say is honesty, I find to be TMI. Parents are not entitled to share everything about their child with everyone. You want honesty? Yes, some children are more challenging. In Catholic parenting code that is called “a chance to grow in holiness”. But that is not reserved for only the fourth child–it could be any child at any point.

Her blog on a Disney site was largely about the difficulty she had with this child at an amusement park 6 hours from her home involving an overnight stay without her husband on that adventure. Somehow, I don’t think that her fourth child deserves the credit alone for that trip being difficult. More honesty–I honestly believe it was a dumb idea to take that trip.

 

[alexandratm]

You appreciate your mom telling YOU that you WERE challenging and difficult for her. That is entirely different than a blog post telling EVERYONE that her fourth child IS difficult.

What you say is honesty, I find to be TMI. Parents are not entitled to share everything about their child with everyone. You want honesty? Yes, some children are more challenging. In Catholic parenting code that is called “a chance to grow in holiness”. But that is not reserved for only the fourth child–it could be any child at any point.

Her blog on a Disney site was largely about the difficulty she had with this child at an amusement park 6 hours from her home involving an overnight stay without her husband on that adventure. Somehow, I don’t think that her fourth child deserves the credit alone for that trip being difficult. More honesty–I honestly believe it was a dumb idea to take that trip.

Oh, believe me, everyone did know when I was a child that my mother thought me high-maintenance. Some were even front row attendees to my antics.