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Post by learjet on Apr 9, 2016 11:07:41 GMT
Hi Nedders! I'm thinking of putting together a post on tips on parenting from SMK. Any contributions of ideas would be gratefully received (and acknowledged)!
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Post by valerie on Apr 10, 2016 18:19:09 GMT
For some reason the first thing that came to my mind is the whole "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" comment. Both Amanda and Dotty have said it. And then there's the participation the kids school activities like the PTA, scouts, the plays, etc. as well as other activities like coaching little league. There's the boyfriend/girlfriend issue--Philip had a new girlfriend and Amanda let him tie up the phone. And then school projects like volcanos, maps, Khartoum, etc. And things like what to eat or not when you are sick, drying shoes in the oven (we never get to see what that was all about).
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Post by learjet on Apr 10, 2016 23:23:56 GMT
For some reason the first thing that came to my mind is the whole "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" comment. Both Amanda and Dotty have said it. And then there's the participation the kids school activities like the PTA, scouts, the plays, etc. as well as other activities like coaching little league. There's the boyfriend/girlfriend issue--Philip had a new girlfriend and Amanda let him tie up the phone. And then school projects like volcanos, maps, Khartoum, etc. And things like what to eat or not when you are sick, drying shoes in the oven (we never get to see what that was all about). Thanks, Valerie. I hadn't thought about a few of those. For some reason, I can come up with a lot of tips regarding Dotty "parenting" Amanda... (Regarding the shoes, my husband used to dry his (quite expensive) cycling shoes with the oven on a very low temperature. One day he forgot about them and they shrank. I was not impressed!
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Post by valerie on Apr 11, 2016 1:03:18 GMT
I was wondering if it was specific to Dotty and Amanda, Amanda and the boys, or both. Do you need more examples?
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Post by jestress on Apr 11, 2016 1:16:55 GMT
I'm not a parent, so there's not a lot I can say about it, but I did give Amanda and Dotty awards in my Character Awards thread every time they said something about raising children (or a lot of times, anyway, I might have missed some). Mostly they're conventional things about not staying up late and how moving in the middle of a school year is too hectic, but there are some gems like how children like chihuahuas, and they also require food! But, you can use those for reference if you're looking for quotes or general ideas, if you want. I sometimes look back at them to remind myself which episode something was in. One thing that really strikes me as being different from the household I grew up in is the level of involvement in activities, like valerie was talking about. People in my family aren't really "joiners" or sports fans, so we didn't have nearly as many activities as Philip and Jamie go to. I think it's partly a plot device so the kids can be camping with the scouts, on a field trip, or at a sleepover with friends or something when Amanda needs to be elsewhere, but the kids never seem to be stressed or overburdened by it. The whole family seems to like participating in camp-outs, volunteer work, neighborhood organizations, etc. I guess what strikes me is that most of their private interests are public ones: the boys play sports on organized teams, family camp-outs seem to happen with scouts or other groups, trips that the kids go on always seem to involve other friends and not just family, and the boys build little mechanical devices for science fairs and not just their own private amusement. Of course, those are just the activities we see. They may also do other things that we don't see.
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Post by jestress on Apr 11, 2016 5:14:10 GMT
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think I left out a lot of things in those awards. The ACM Kid is full of stuff about dealing with kids (which is interesting because we get to see some of how Lee feels about kids even early on). I cringe a little when Amanda tries to make that inspirational speech about Peter Pan that's really too young for Alexei before Alexei calls her on it. But, she does better later when she just uses simple sincerity to get through to him. Then, there's the Long Christmas Eve when she talks about telling her kids about Santa and how Philip just said, "Don't con me, mom." She occasionally underestimates the kids, I think.
A Little Sex, A Little Scandal is the one with the Mother of the Year award where Amanda tells the lady running the contest what she thinks a mother's job is. Then, there's also A Relative Situation where Amanda talks to the Colonel about what it's like raising children and how their philosophies of parenthood are different. I think those two episodes kind of get at what Amanda thinks being a parent is really about.
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Post by iwsod on Apr 11, 2016 9:11:26 GMT
Hi Nedders! I'm thinking of putting together a post on tips on parenting from SMK. Any contributions of ideas would be gratefully received (and acknowledged)! Helloooooo I've had a stressful day.. A little whimsy is called for Firstly - Learjet this post sounds really fun!!! So... I see Valerie and Jestress have come up with some good ones! Yes Valerie I remember the breakfast is the most important meal of the day advice is at the start of DOA.. Jestress that line about mothers telling you whether you did something right is hilarious!! good catch!! So Learjet, I'm interpreting your question not just as actual dialogue.. parenting tips could also be based on any smk parent's actions in relation to being a parent no? This could be fun.. I'm not going to research so ummm I can't vouch for the veracity of my suggestions Here goes.. Parenting tip: when telling your son not to hit his brother, be specific about what he shouldn't use.. "Phillip, do not hit your brother in the head with trash" [sharp objects may be okay ] Parenting tip: when telling your son not to call his brother names, be specific about what he shouldn't be called.. "Phillip, do not call your brother Bozo." ['Dirt bag' may be okay ] Parenting tip: When you make the boys a promise - make sure you keep it! [there's probably a few of these moments.. but promising goofy golf comes to mind] Parenting tip: When shopping, let your boys ride the shopping trolley in the oh so dangerous car park - it keeps them busy while some lady says isn't it awful about Betty Bodine getting strangled wouldn't want the little kiddies hearing that Parenting tip: Avoid helping your children with assignments which indicate you are a double agent. Parenting tip: Do not enter time warps when your son is playing Rumpelstiltskin the next night in a play! Parenting tip: When someone is sick they want to eat something bland.. not junk! Lol there are loads! I better quit while I'm ahead bye! Hope you are well!!
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Post by Janeth on Apr 11, 2016 14:28:52 GMT
Spend time with your kids because as Dotty will tell you, "It's terrifying how fast they drift away. I mean, one minute you're changing their diapers, and the next minute, they're off in Honduras, getting tattoos."
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Post by learjet on Apr 13, 2016 3:35:46 GMT
I was wondering if it was specific to Dotty and Amanda, Amanda and the boys, or both. Do you need more examples? I think it'll be both Dotty and Amanda, and Amanda and the boys. And anything else that comes up eg the Colonel thanks Janeth, jestress and iwsod for your ideas. It looks like more than one post as there's so much "material"!
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