At home I live in a world of men. Let's be clear, I gave birth to a couple of good eggs, they are in essence, very good humans, compassionate, kind, aware of others needs, intelligent, they study hard, behave well and in general cause very little trouble.
But lately the resident pre-teenager, the resident teenager and I have been having this ongoing issue at home. Tidy the corner, brush your teeth, take a shower, why are you wearing the same shirt from yesterday's soccer practice, no, you cannot eat fries for the 7th day in a row, whose gross socks are these in the middle of the stairs, etc... In summary, according to them, I nag too much.
So I've been thinking. what exactly is nagging and what is loving behaviour? What is that blurry line that differentiates nag from love? And today the answer finally came to me! Ready? If the nagging implies future well being then ........................... drumroll please .............. IT IS LOVE!!! If I can follow my "nagging" with a question or statement that predicts future well being then I should be absolved from the sin right?
Okay, here goes.
1) Brush and floss your teeth. Do you want to have teeth when you are 80? --- LOVE!
2) NO MORE FRIES!!. Do you want to live past 60? ---- LOVE!
3) DO NOT wear yesterday's soccer practice shirt AGAIN! Do you want people to come close to you? --- LOVE!
4) Wash your face. Do you want to be free of flesh eating disease? ---- LOVE! (ok, ok that one is a little apocalyptic but it will probably work)
5) Shower. Do you want to be free of all diseases? ---- LOVE!
6) Mind your table manners. Do you want to go to a lunch job interview and get the job? ---- LOVE!
6) Tidy the corner ........... mmmmmmmhhhhhh having a hard time with this one so maybe I'll give ---- NAG!
But to save you all the trouble of having this debate at home I will give you the MOST important pre-teen and teen parenting advice you have ever been given. Another drumroll please. You can add: "Do you want to have a girlfriend?" to any and all of the above and be EFFECTIVE! Plus you'll have to use a lot less words.
