Tag Archives: individuality

Skipping Out on the Awards Ceremony—Allowing Them to be Who They Are

We received a notice in the mail inviting us to attend an end-of-the-year awards ceremony at my eldest daughter’s high school. Despite what you might think, she was NOT happy about it. In fact, it stressed her out. The letter didn’t tell us what the award was for (I don’t understand the anxiety-producing thought process behind that one) and it was nerve-racking for her not knowing what to prepare for. This, of course, is in the midst of her trying to wrap up all the other loose ends for graduation. I was ready and willing to go, but she was … Continue reading →

Graduation—Part Three—to Have a Party or Not

Since I am living through the intensity of high school graduation—double-time (with two daughters moving on to college)—I have been writing about some of my challenges and observations. One of the big ones for us was deciding whether to have a party or not, and then figuring out what sort of a party, how to invite people and even coordinating the “when” was a big deal… Once my daughters decided that they could and would have a party together, they were both on board. At first, they just weren’t sure. There are so many other parties going on and one … Continue reading →

Every Family Has its Quirks

What seems completely “normal” to my little family might seem a little on the weird side to another family (and vice versa). Instead of trying so hard to be like everyone else or the families we see on television or in magazine, we might be better off celebrating our own unique quirks. I believe that just like a workplace or a church or a school environment, each family has its own “culture.” This may shift and change over time, but there might also be some quirks and uniqueness’s that remain. I also think there is a difference between traditions and … Continue reading →

Family and Sibling Haircuts—Different or Similar?

Individuality is important in a family, but so is efficiency and connectedness. One of the areas that parents of more than one child wrestle with is hair cuts—do we get similar hair cuts for our kids, even identical ones when they are little, or do we shake things up and let individuality emerge from an early age? It can be so tempting to go with a more uniform family look—especially if you have children of all the same gender or those of similar ages. How simple and efficient it is to line all the boys up and give them the … Continue reading →

Why Force It?

I hear from parent after parent who wants to know how to “force” a child to do something that he or she doesn’t want to do: force to take formula when he prefers breast milk (or vice versa), force to go to bed at a certain time, force to wear a certain type of clothes, force to play a specific sport or do an activity that he or she doesn’t like. I cannot help but wonder why all of these parents are working so hard to force something and wondering whether it is in the best interest of the child … Continue reading →

Enjoy Being an Individual

One of the great things that happens on a personal level when we embark on operating our own home business is that we move away from the pack–we start to live a more individualized life and stand out on our own. This can be scary, of course, and feel incredibly foreign if we are used to working a traditional job and being “ordinary.” But, I do think we can celebrate this unique path and learn how to enjoy being an individual doing things our way! There are going to be those who think your independence and home business endeavors are … Continue reading →

“Why Do They Think We Still Want to Match?”

I not the parent of twins, but have three very separate children all a little more than a year apart. My two daughters are not quite fifteen months apart and when they were younger, people tended to assume the two of them were twins. Age, individuality and the fact that there is more than 6 inches and very different body types that separate them has taken care of that—but at the ages of 17 and nearly 18, there are still those people who try to treat them like two-of-a-kind. They are neither of them very happy about it either… My … Continue reading →

Accepting Alternative Paths

I know this title seems sort of “woo woo” as we like to say here on the West coast, but earlier today I was talking with a fellow parent and we were talking about the different ways our kids have of going about things. Not everyone follows the “traditional” or “socially acceptable” way of going about schooling, activities, religion, etc. As a matter of fact, our kids have a way of evolving individually and forcing us to realize that there are even different paths out there! When I was growing up, I just assumed that every kid went to their … Continue reading →

The Kettles Get New Clothes – Dayle Ann Dodds

The Kettles are a cute little family of dogs who go clothes shopping for themselves once a year. They like their clothes very plain and simple – no need for lots of fancy floofs for them, thank you very much. But one day, when they made their pilgrimage, they discovered something unsettling. The store they usually went to was different. It had a shiny glass door, instead of the plain wooden one it always had before. The owner, Pip by name, rushed forward and took all their measurements, then hustled them off to the dressing rooms. He outfitted them all … Continue reading →

Helping Our Kids Let Go of “The Crowd”

Peer pressure, friends, cliques, socialization–it is all a huge part of growing up. Our kids learn a great deal about surviving in the real world from learning how to interact socially as they are growing and developing. But, our children also need a chance to hear their own voices, get away from the crowd, and get in touch with their individuality and figure out who they are when they are NOT part of a big peer group… As parents, we can help our children learn to balance social time with alone time. Of course, some kids just seem to natural … Continue reading →