Posted on 5 Comments

Picking Parental Battles

My 15 year old daughter left the house today wearing Teva sandals (similar to the Open Toachi). They are cool looking and rugged shoes. She wore no socks. The only problem? This morning I had to scrape ice from the windshield, puddles in parking lots were frozen solid, and my long sleeve and jacket wasn’t enough. I desired a sweater in addition to my other layers to be comfortable. In short, it is cold!

I could have fought with her and demanded that she wear regular shoes or at least put on socks. However, this has natural consequences. She can learn her own lessons without being distracted by me.

5 thoughts on “Picking Parental Battles

  1. This from the guy who was polar bearing with the dogs in the cold the other night? 😉 I guess you are defaulting to the natural consequence, at least.

  2. Bathing dog in January

  3. I’ve deferred to the kids’ wishes against my better judgment occasionally, solely to avoid a time-consuming argument (“We’re late!! You forgot to get some breakfast?? Ok, grab a cereal bar and let’s just GO!”) and I doubt she’ll catch her death in open toed shoes, but you know how I feel about “pick your battles”. And when it involves cold weather dress, I find it better for kids to learn the consequences from parents rather than coming home with frostbitten toes…

  4. Good for you. Save your capital for when she comes home smitten with some fella you know is no good.

  5. HAHAHA Great pic doug!

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