Today I want to share three nuggets of parenting wisdom from the blogoshpere. Why reinvent the wheel? Sometimes you’ve just got to pass along the wisdom…

NUGGET ONE

First up is the latest on the Challenge Success Blog. Check out “We’re” Not Going to College…written by Julie Lythcott-Haims, who was Stanford’s freshman dean for ten years. She has a forthcoming book about “helicopter parenting,” and she writes in the blog:

We seem so afraid on our kids’ behalf – of strangers, of missed opportunities, of failing to keep up with the Joneses – and our fears impel us to always be there, present, hovering, poised to prevent, protect, intervene, advocate, and defend.

Citing Madeline Levine (whom I cite liberally in Raise the Child You’ve Got—Not the One You Want), she wonders why so many parents overparent and rob their growing children of the important life experience that come from dealing with adversity. Important stuff!

NUGGET TWO

Next, a great post by Ariadne on Authentic Parenting—How Gentle Parenting Works In Every Day Life: 3 Scenarios. I had to laugh at the names of the 3 scenarios:

• The Case of I don’t wanna
• The Case of the Lost shoes
• The Case of the Near Melt Down

In each scenario, Ariadne explains how she handled it, and then adds WHY SHE THINKED IT WORKED. I love that. Lots of good wisdom there.

NUGGET THREE

For the final nugget, we go to Momastery. Whenever I read Glennon Doyle Melton, I laugh so hard  or weep with a broken heart. I ALWAYS marvel at her astonishing ability to find the perfect words for the very real, very imperfect family realities. Writing about bedtime, which she likens to the game of “Whack-a-Mole”:

One of the myriad problems with this parenting gig is that they save the hardest part for last. BEDTIME. Bedtime should be in the morning – when we’re fresh and kind and sweet – and decent parenting still seems like a very real possibility.

Oh how I remember those days. The mornings seemed so full of promise, but more often than not, by nightfall, I was praying I was a “good enough” mother. Again.

What about you? Which of these nuggets resonates with you?