Liby Mon 30-May-11 10:13:26
I am planning to
-not use dummies
I stuck to this and regret it. A 10yo sucking her fingers is not a pretty sight.
-not let my kids eat junk food
You will curtail their social lives if you never let them eat junk food. You are also likely to find that what you class as good food will be classed as junk food by at least one friend's parents which will annoy you intensely.
-no disney
You will miss out on the great classics, like Jungle Book and Fantasia. But they won't- they'll get to watch them at school or at their friends' house.
-no barbies/bratz
You will alienate their friends if you turn away birthday presents.
-extra homework most evenings
You will most likely find that they are falling asleep with exhaustion over the homework they get in the early years- and simply too busy with homework when they get older.
-chidren will learn another language
Part of the National Curriculum, though how well they learn it will depend to some extent on how much extra in the way of books and films and visits to the country you provide. It will also depend to some extent on how hard you can get them to work.
-same with musical instrument
This one does depend on how much they want to practise.
-computer games/tv etc limited to weekends
This one does seem within the realms of possibility- though obviously you can't police their friends' parents when they are round there playing.
-to grow vegetables with my DC
Yes, though you may find that they refuse to get involved after they reach a certain age. Or they may love it. But you cannot force an interest.
-take them to museums regularly
D:o. I make mine go round museums. One is keen, the other hates it.
-read with them/to them everynight
I do do this. But if they didn't like it, it would be harder.
-cook with them regularly
Again, they may enjoy it or may hate it.
-To say no and mean no and have high expecations of behaviour at all times.
You can always have expectations. but a certain amount of challenging behaviour is normal at certain stages of development and you will get through them a lot quicker if you allow for that and work around it.
What you do not seem to have developed yet is a sense of your children as people in their own right, with their own interests and their own sense of what makes life worthwhile. And who will gradually have a life of their own outside your control.
What if you find that you have given birth to an incredibly artistic child who sees practising his instrument as a waste of time when he could be sketching in the park? What if they hate cooking because it takes them away from embroidery? Or get so involved with sport or drama or horse riding that it seriously cuts down on their time to grow vegetables with you?
You can introduce them to activities and hope they will like them. You can force them to acquire certain basic skills, such as plain cooking, whether they like it or not. But you don't get to decide what they are going to enjoy or be interested in. And in all likelihood they will make you engage in a fair few activities you never thought you would take an interest in.