My mom told me that when I was growing up, one of the reasons she would go out for an evening, at least once a week or more, was to teach me that parents have lives outside of raising kids.
Now, that was HER perception. I'm on the other side of the fence, and I do remember those days of her going out without me, and it felt like it was often. I wouldn't want my mom to leave or I would beg to come along with her. When I was a bit older, I was with fun babysitters and didn't mind it so much.
When I got old enough, she would leave with some loser for a whole weekend. I hated that. It's good that she trusted me enough to stay home, but she had a dog and I'm no good at taking care of dogs. Cats are a breeze, but dogs need to be let out right when they need to go out, no matter how early it is. And then they need to be let in otherwise they bark. Just about every morning the dog would do her business in the house when I was left alone. It's not like I wanted a dog. That was my mom's idea and she should have taken it with her. The loser she was with owned a farm, for pete's sake.
Anyways, my mom was explaining that it was important for me to see her going out. He philosophy is that it shows parents have a life outside parenthood. Thanks. To me, I feel it shows I was an inconvenience and I feel she wasn't eager to spend time with me. I'm not saying I expected my mom to be a home body. But I would have liked to be in on the action. Or have her not go out so frequently.
As a parent, myself, I do go out. I enjoy karaoke. But I feel guilty if I go out every week or every 2 weeks. I can tell that my daughter feels the same loneliness I had when my mom would go out every week. So, I cut it down. I took about 2 or 3 months of a hiatus with going out and concentrated on spending time with my daughter. And I do anticipate spending as much time as possible with her. I found out the place I go to will allow minors to participate in karaoke as long as a legal guardian is with them in the lounge area, and I've been starting to take my daughter with me whenever she has school off the next day.
It puts her mind at ease because she often wondered how I was doing and what the place was like. It's only a restaurant.
The questions to you all are:
Does my mom have a point? Or am I right and that parents are better to limit their excursions and put more time being a parent and enjoying their kids?
Now, that was HER perception. I'm on the other side of the fence, and I do remember those days of her going out without me, and it felt like it was often. I wouldn't want my mom to leave or I would beg to come along with her. When I was a bit older, I was with fun babysitters and didn't mind it so much.
When I got old enough, she would leave with some loser for a whole weekend. I hated that. It's good that she trusted me enough to stay home, but she had a dog and I'm no good at taking care of dogs. Cats are a breeze, but dogs need to be let out right when they need to go out, no matter how early it is. And then they need to be let in otherwise they bark. Just about every morning the dog would do her business in the house when I was left alone. It's not like I wanted a dog. That was my mom's idea and she should have taken it with her. The loser she was with owned a farm, for pete's sake.
Anyways, my mom was explaining that it was important for me to see her going out. He philosophy is that it shows parents have a life outside parenthood. Thanks. To me, I feel it shows I was an inconvenience and I feel she wasn't eager to spend time with me. I'm not saying I expected my mom to be a home body. But I would have liked to be in on the action. Or have her not go out so frequently.
As a parent, myself, I do go out. I enjoy karaoke. But I feel guilty if I go out every week or every 2 weeks. I can tell that my daughter feels the same loneliness I had when my mom would go out every week. So, I cut it down. I took about 2 or 3 months of a hiatus with going out and concentrated on spending time with my daughter. And I do anticipate spending as much time as possible with her. I found out the place I go to will allow minors to participate in karaoke as long as a legal guardian is with them in the lounge area, and I've been starting to take my daughter with me whenever she has school off the next day.
It puts her mind at ease because she often wondered how I was doing and what the place was like. It's only a restaurant.
The questions to you all are:
Does my mom have a point? Or am I right and that parents are better to limit their excursions and put more time being a parent and enjoying their kids?
