OK have been meaning to start this one for a while - what are you insouciant about re yr kids?

[Clary]

Sorry for silly long word in the title. I really mean, what do you let go and think is OK that others might not. I am convinced we all have sthg.

For example, a pal is a lovely mum and really caring but once carried more children in her car than there were eseast for. I would never do this.

Another really really lovely caring mumsnet type mum who makes her own bread and loves her lovely kids to bits and does all kinds of imaginative stuff with them but passes on shoes.

Another is lovely too, shoes always nicely shined, house is clean and tidy, children very polite, ride bikes, read well etc, but are fed total crap - and refuse any brown bread, salad, fruit etc (at least that's all the kids were ever given at playdates there).

So what's your thing you just don't think matters? I'm not after judging (tho no doubt this will go that way) but interested.

Tp show I mean it, here are mine (I have 2); 1) I let my kids lick out the cake mix bowl (the car friend thinks this is unacceptable). Raw eggs, schmaw eggs. Am I putting their lives at risk?

2. I am a bit casual about illness. If DD is sick (she often is) but not really ill, ie she throws up then asks what's for lunch and goes and runs round in the garden afterwards, I don't wait 48 hrs to send her back to school.

See, I told you I was a bad mother!

twinmummy- check out the "mundane" car user thread- its the day for lunatics today!!

on my way...probably just to lurk though.....god i am bored today...

Where?...r u messing wiv me.......searching...

on active convo's you'll see it!! hundreds of messages

here!

I love buying second hand clothes for us all -me and DH included. I do hoever have a friend who won't even go into charity shops because she says "they smell of wee and old ladies..."

Well I gotta say I have been enjoying this thread until it got a bit heated towards the end there.

I thought it was meant to be lighthearted but there you go.

As for my ds's who cares if they wear 2nd hand clothes no-one would know unless you told them.

I am a bit anal about car safety tho.

Licking the cake bowl tho, we used to fight over that as kids, still here to tell the tale so couldn't have been that bad for us eh? ...and my mum wasn't fussed about us cleaning our teeth and I still have all mine and no fillings...So there(shock)

pmsl @ 2nd hand clothes being something Ever So Terrible. I love big bags of hand me downs. (3 boys so by the time they get to ds3, having been 2nd hand with ds1 they must be about 6th hand).

I let dd (4.5) sip wine and have done for as long as I can remember.
If she drops a sweet on the floor I let her pick it up and eat it.
The worst is probably my favourite cd's someones have the odd swear word in them, and dd listens to them in the car all time.

I am a BAAAAAD mother.

Do you have the James Blunt CD? My DS loves singing "f*ing high""

hello twinmummyx2

i am fussy about teeth cleaning, car safety, um, can't think of anything else.

i let my children get down from the table when they want; i like relaxed meal times. my sil hates this.

totallyshocked: "oh my god if you cant even afford to buy them new clothes how are you ever going to afford to feed them proper". you have very strong feelings about second hand clothes; some people are fussy about correct grammar and spelling

chocface- when that's playing in the car I always haveto remember to shout the radio version (flying) loudly at the relevant point.

we have a new rule. As of today....

everyone must wear something - even if it's just a pair of underpants - at the dinner table (what is it about small boys and naturism?)

Anything else is (and probably has already been) tolerated

hello grannyquack... had to look at your profile then....

Hows baby? do you go away this month?
kids back to school monday
do you want to meet up??

my e-mail is [email protected]

Chocolateface - no, James Blunt isn't really my thing, I'm a massive Manic Street Preachers fan, so DD gets the likes of "it's so fing funny, it's absurd", "braindead mother fers", and "the boys in the band, they don't give a f*" - ha! ha! Can't wait til I can take her to gigs, she already has 3 signed t shirts, although she's more of a Kaiser Chiefs fan!

have been in touch, twinmummyx2

Message withdrawn

PMSL at totallyshocked's phobia of 2nd hand clothes. ds (who lives in hand-me-downs from friends and godparents' children) is obviously doooooomed

I've never subscribed to the religion of the nightly bath. Indeed, ds has just been 7 1/2 days without one Usually it's every 4-5 days or so. Also do not die of embarrassment when ds has a couple of food stains on his clothes or round his mouth when we go out.

i thought that i was a laid back parent until i read this and now i think that i am neurotic!

don't mind:
my children climbing trees (or anything ese for that matter),
cheap doodle type shoes,
2nd hand clothes,
my children getting dirty or grubby - it means that they have enjoyed themselves,
not brushing teeth twice a day evry day ( i encourage it but am not anal about it,
occasional sweets, crisps, junk

do mind:
licking the bowl (sorry!)
car safety,
bath everynight,
clean clothes every day,
clarks fitted shoes,
fresh fruit and veg and generally a healthy balanced diet
juice/drinks with sweetners (why do it?)

i could go on forever........but i won't bore you all

These are of course MY preferences and no one has to have the same preferences as me as we are all entitled to our own views and opinions here (before anyone over reacts at my boasting!)

How many are you Shinypeople?

Just like to add that when I admitted my dds go about as tattyheads I was genuinely ashamed and not boasting about my inefficiency. And it was just occasionally when they managed to distract me or I foolishly left the responsibility with dh. Am a bit more clued up now and chase them around with hairbrushes, nag about conditioner and try to make it more of a priority. When I was their age I had short hair, so I never envisaged their coiffure would be such hard work.

Am I forgiven now, Totallyshocked?

i have 3 little people.

my daughter is 8 and my boys are 6 and 3. Buying new (Clarks) shoes and clothes can be a very expensive affair!

I get peed off when people think that their style of parenting is better than others'.

We are all different and of course our children will all be brought up with what money is available. Our priorities all differ too.

I have the choice of lovely new clothes from all of the top kids shops or i can buy from cheap shops and accept hand me downs but give my children lots of fresh friut and veg and decent cuts of fresh meat and fish.

Now which one makes me the better parent i wonder?

i am very strict about car safety

i am not bothered about illnesses, although i get the glass at the slightest hint of a rash.

i let the kids lick the cake mix bowl, (if they beat me to it)

i will use second hand clothes, (why not) but i wont use second hand shoes.

i am not anal about teeth brushing, i do encourage,

i dont mind the kids having lunch in front of the tv, but we all eat tea at the table.

I don't believe that the world is full of bad people ready to steal my kids... More that the world is full of cars ready to knock them over, especially on the school run

Have happily left my 5 year old by the checkout in Sainsburys and gone and got something that I have forgotten.

Love second hand clothes. Clean clothes, matching clothes - boring/yawn

Quite relaxed about behaviour - but no hitting etc.../ bad language/ rudeness to people other than family

Dirt, my kids are always finding bugs in the house and aren't allowed to kill them.

Illness, scrapes etc.. - if you can move it you can walk.

Clean clothes, matching clothes - boring/yawn

Swimming lessons - haven't quite got there yet.