You know what I love?
Wine.
You know what I don’t love?
Too much wine. Or wine as a necessity. Or wine as a crutch.
You know what I’m starting to become even more aware of?
Wine as a punchline.
I’m as guilty as any mom or parent of having a very long day and saying in my most exasperated voice, I need a glass of wine.
In that moment, I mean it. I need that glass of wine. That’s my reward and my stress relief and my punchline at the end of the day.
It’s WINE O’CLOCK!
But when the media starts to portray moms as a bunch of drunks in hiding or mom bloggers as women waiting to raid the minibar, it’s time to rethink your funny. See what I mean.
I’ll be the first to admit that I love to laugh and I love to find things that make me laugh. If you head over to my Pinterest boards, you’ll see some examples.
But I am aware of what happens when you make wine the end of every punchline, especially when your kids are watching, listening and repeating (which they ARE doing, whether you realize it or not).
For those of you who were fortunate enough to attend Mom 2.0 Summit this year, you might have had the chance to talk with Haley Kilpatrick, the Founder and Executive Director of Girl Talk. I had the chance to hear Haley speak at length in January about how our kids, especially our girls, carefully observe their parents, ready to point out anything that’s contradictory.
That means the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality doesn’t really work anymore.
She explained how our kids, and especially girls, are subject to peer influence in the most formative years of ages 9 to 14. I may not be the mother of any girls but I sure remember struggling through those years as a girl. Although one of the key messages of Mom 2.0 was building on self-esteem and redefining what beauty is, I can tell you that those years of my life have made a significant difference in how I feel about myself, even as a middle-aged woman.
So what do you do as a parent? Talk early and talk often. In fact, talking to your kids while they are ages 6 to 10 are the most preventative years. It’s the time to teach and model healthy behaviors and talk about topics before they hear about them from their peers.
Her advice is to teach them to THINK…
Great advice for kids and even for adults.
As for modeling this kind of behavior online, next time you’re talking or posting about something that’s funny, ask yourself a few questions. Is it really funny, not offensive, and setting a good example for your kids? If not, it might be time to rethink your funny.
And when in doubt, just post some pictures of cute cats. Nobody can argue with that.
As a member of the #TalkEarly parent blogger team, this post is part of a campaign sponsored by Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. All opinions are my own.
5 comments
Great post! As a mom of two (very) young daughters, I’m already very aware of what I’m saying and doing around them. I see them watch me look at myself in the mirror when I get dressed. Some days I’m not happy with what I see, but I still smile at my reflection, because they need to see that. And hey, I’m sure it actually helps me a little too. 🙂
Humor is my defense mechanism and I use it for everything. And I’m especially fond of self-deprecating humor. My son is starting to take notice of my “jokes” about being old or fat or even drinking wine. Maybe we should see our children as a true reflection of ourselves.
Did “do as I say, not as I do” ever really work? 😉
Seriously, this is a great post, and something I need to remember to consider now that my 13 year old daughter is on Facebook.
No, it never did. Kids have to make their own mistakes but as parents we have to do our best to keep them from making the BIG ones whether it’s by our instruction or experience!
Great points! I definitely use wine as a punchline somedays. I love that THINK acronym.