Do you/Will you handle your household differently from your parents?

[popcornbird]

I was just ironing some clothes for my mom and started thinking of this topic. :p Yes, ironing triggered the thought!

Do you, or will you (if you still live with your parents) handle your household in a different manner from your parents?
The reason ironing clothes triggered this thought was because my mom has always had this habit of ironing entire LOADS of clothes and hanging them in the closet neatly and ready to wear. It takes hours, and personally, I do not like it at all.

Ever since I have been old enough to handle my own clothes, I just wash/dry them, and hang them right away. When I want to wear them, I will take out the pair of clothes I need, iron them, and wear them right away. That takes no more than a few minutes. With my mom's way of handling clothes, that chore lingers around all day. Its something that never gets done because its an ongoing process. My brother and I both handle our own clothes, but my mom STILL irons entire loads of my dad's and her own clothes. Sometimes, she is standing there for hours, and I can't help but question why she does it. There's no reason to tire yourself like that when you can iron the pair of clothes you need before wearing them in just two minutes. Sometimes my mom wants me to iron her loads of clothes.......like today. As I was doing it, I thought of how I would handle this chore when I'm married and have to take care of my own household. I don't think I will handle laundry/ironing like my mom does. That is something I will handle differently. I will wash and dry the clothes and hang them, and iron one pair just when its needed. It saves a lot of time if you think about it. ;)

Of course there are certain things that I will do in the same way as my parents, but at the same time, I see myself doing other things completely different.

I could write a lot more in this thread, about different things, but I have to get back to ironing before I get in trouble. ;) Just thought this would make an interesting thread. Do you, or will you, handle household chores in the same way as your parents? Have you/will you raise your kids in the same way as your parents? Just wondering. :p

Oh.......I think and hope my household will have more pets too. :p He he he! It would probably be the same in most issues, but there are little things that I would like to have different.

[Lillycat]

i cant wait for the responses to roll in......pcb, this thread should be a hoot!!

[Tonya]

First off, I don't own an iron. :D I normally don't buy clothes that need to be ironed, the few that do, go off to the dry cleaners.

Ok...things that I do not (and will not) do that my mother did:

1) Make 5 days worth of lunch sandwiches on Sunday. My sandwiches were always soggy by Friday.

2) Make a huge batch of food and then seperate it into meals on paperplates and store it in the fridge. We don't like leftovers and that does not make it any more enticing!

And my BIGGEST one...

3) Not go grocery shopping until the cupboards and fridge are literally bare. That is sooo wrong. Force me to eat some wierd can of something or other because I know you won't go grocery shopping otherwise. :mad:

[stacwase]

My household is so much different from my parents' that I could write a book and still not cover everything!

My house is clean!

There is NO second hand smoke in my house

Pets ARE allowed in my house.

My kids are allowed to have their own opinions and aren't expected to kiss our butts 24/7.

[wolflady]

Originally posted by Tonya
...
3) Not go grocery shopping until the cupboards and fridge are literally bare. That is sooo wrong. Force me to eat some wierd can of something or other because I know you won't go grocery shopping otherwise. :mad:


LOL LOL :D :D

[sirrahbed]

:D The ironing got me giggling. My mom ironed everything! I'm talking clothes, pillowcases, sheets, even my dad's handerchiefs! I don't iron anything. If I take it out of the dryer warm and hang it up, why iron? I may take an iron to a collar or special dress now and then but very seldom. My mom was also a June Cleaver clone - you know her? Beaver's mom? Well, Monday is wash day, Tuesday is ironing, Wednesday is breadbaking...etc ad nauseam. Dust, vacumn, scrub bathrooms and kitchen, lysol on doorknobs and telephones....:p :p

I was a pretty relaxed mom - I was strict (the meanest mom on the block in fact:D ) but housework could wait because I would rather play with my kids. They were allowed to make messes and put crawdads in the bathtub. We grew maggots on hamburger. We made tents in the livingroom. We went camping. I tried to make them feel that they were the most wonderful kids in the world. I never bailed them out when they screwed something up or did something wrong. I hope they remember things like that.

I guess I have gone out of my way to take the good but to be as opposite as possible. :rolleyes:

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Surprisingly, I don't think I'd do anything different. There may be a few things that I would change, but none that I can think of off the top of my head.

Except maybe, perhaps, a few more dogs. :D;):p

[Cookiebaker]

Great thread, PCB! ;)

My household is a LOT different than my parents. I dunno exactly how to describe it, but my parents were rather strict, and we are kind of relaxed. Part of it is just that we don't have kids.

And about the ironing thing? My Mom was horrified when she learned that I never use my iron. (I've only pulled it out 1-2 times since we moved 4 years ago :eek: ) But about a year ago, she confided to me that she hasn't used her iron in over a year either. Haha!! :p

[Tonya]

Matter of fact, if I had stayed single, I wouldn't be ironing at all. The only thing that I seem to wind up ironing is Mike and Jaden's dress shirt and slacks.

[carole]

I have to say my household is very different to my mother's as well, she is a neat freak, whereas I like to take the more lived in approach, I like it clean, but my place is untidy in comparison to her's, my sister on the other hand has her house very much like my mum's.

I also like my pets to be able to sleep on my beds, my mother and sister would not let theirs, I think I am more like one of my Aunty's.

I only iron when and if I need something, I even cheat and use the dryer to iron things out, as I am not passionate about ironing, whereas my mother irons everything right down to tea-towels and undies.

As a child I was never allowed to make a mess, I have let my children almost turn the place upside down, but they do have to clean up, as i can only stand a mess for so long., then it really gets to me.

So yes I guess I run my household very different indeed.

[Pam]

Well I confess to ironing! LOL! I just like a nice crease on things and you can't get that fresh out of the dryer. I draw the line at ironing things other than the clothes that we wear to work. I would never iron casual clothes and certainly not sheets! LOL!

My mom's housekeeping was not quite up to mine. She was so relaxed about it that often she couldn't find things that she wanted. That drove me crazy and probably contributed to me being so organized today. My parents also didn't take our pets to the vets for shots, etc. on a regular basis. I don't know if it "just wasn't done way back then" or if they were the only ones who didn't. As I think back I don't remember any of the neighbors really going to the vets unless a pet was sick or broke a bone or something. :eek: Amazingly, my childhood dog lived into his teens.

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by stacwase
My household is so much different from my parents' that I could write a book and still not cover everything!

My house is clean!

There is NO second hand smoke in my house

Pets ARE allowed in my house.

My kids are allowed to have their own opinions and aren't expected to kiss our butts 24/7.

Here here for the smoke one! No smoke in my house and no clutter everywhere. I hate clutter! My parents' house is a monument to owl ornaments, bowling trophies, piles of clothes on the billards table and about 14 million golf balls :)

Oh and sometimes I go to my folks' house and peek in the fridge because I'm hungry, and there's trays and trays of liver, tongue, kidneys and all sorts of internal organs for her cat food. Ewwwwww :eek: Gets me out of the fridge I guess.

[popcornbird]

I'll probably be a clean freak, just like my mom. :p I *am* a clean freak. I can't stand kids making the slightest mess. My poor kids won't be allowed to make a mess in the house........at least I don't think I will allow them to. God knows if I will change my way of thinking when the time comes though. I was never allowed to make a big mess as a child, and my kids won't get the permission to do that either. I can't stand messy kids. :p

Manners-wise, I will probably raise my kids just like my mom and dad raised us. I know several people who have taught their kids NO manners, and they seem to destroy everything when visiting people. My mom would have never allowed me to touch/destroy things in the homes of other people, and my kids won't have that freedom either. They're going to have a strict mommy (behavior-wise). ;) They'll have to be well-behaved. So as you can see........there will be some things I will do completely different, and some things, exactly the same.

Interesting responses everyone! Keep them coming. :p

BTW, I'm done with that iron load! :D Thank God!!!

I hate ironing...

[Tonya]

Originally posted by Miss Meow
Here here for the smoke one! No smoke in my house and no clutter everywhere. I hate clutter! My parents' house is a monument to owl ornaments, bowling trophies, piles of clothes on the billards table and about 14 million golf balls :)

Oh and sometimes I go to my folks' house and peek in the fridge because I'm hungry, and there's trays and trays of liver, tongue, kidneys and all sorts of internal organs for her cat food. Ewwwwww :eek: Gets me out of the fridge I guess.

I swear, our parents are so much alike!

[MariaM]

Well, lets just say it will be COMPLETELY different. It would take too long to explain:o

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by Tonya
I swear, our parents are so much alike!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my front yard *will not* be having a decorated toilet as the feature ;)

[Kfamr]

Probably not.

My parents aren't close-minded or strict when it comes to chosing our beliefs, they're not close minded when it comes to our opinions, they allow me to chose what's best for my pets, they allow me to chose everything for myself.


I'll allow my children to do the same, as long as it's not harming themselves or anyone else.


The only thing I can think of, it won't be so darn loud. :p

[binka_nugget]

Nope, I like the way things are here. I'd change very few things.

Our family is similar to what Kay said.

My mom is great. She's very open and not strict at all. I'm allowed to go out wherever/whenever I please but I always make sure to call and just check in. The dogs are my responsibility so I choose what I do with them. She has never given me a lecture about smoking, drugs, alcohol, and all that "parent" stuff but I think that's why I've never turned to those things.. I had my own freedom and chose not to rebel against her.

The only thing I'd change is that we'd be a closer family. We'd have to actually talk and have decent meals together. I haven't had one with my family in years. My dad doesn't know what grade I'm in, how old I am, when my birthday is, etc. I'd also never allow smoke in the house.. nothing that will harm anyone else. One other thing is, we'd have real food in the house. ;) Our house has nothing but instant noodles, mac n cheese and canned stuff.

[Amber]

When I get my own house someday it would probably be just like ours. Doing everything we do now.

But, I would want to have more schnauzers :p

Something I would change though is letting the dog toys be where ever they are. My parents are always telling my to put them back in the pile.

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by binka_nugget


The only thing I'd change is that we'd be a closer family. We'd have to actually talk and have decent meals together. I haven't had one with my family in years. My dad doesn't know what grade I'm in, how old I am, when my birthday is, etc. I'd also never allow smoke in the house.. nothing that will harm anyone else. One other thing is, we'd have real food in the house. ;) Our house has nothing but instant noodles, mac n cheese and canned stuff.

We eat together as a family *everyday*. I can't imagine having dinner with a family member missing from the table. Just doesn't feel right. That's something I would never change. I love it.

Basically, my household will probably be very similiar to what it is now. Its just these ironing type of chores that I want to have completely different. :p

[Kfamr]

Wow Ashley.... even what you said was very similar.


My parents used to smoke in the house but they don't any more, and we actually have WHITE walls instead of YELLOW. :p


I'm not so sure about eating together at the table though. I really don't like others watching me and I especially don't like watching people eat. :p (Or hearing people eat... ask Cori!)

I enjoy it once in a while, but not EVERY day.

[Tonya]

My mom's newest thing is dead palm leaves. She is going to make her home look all tropical and exotic by attaching them all over.

When we were in San Diego, she was trying to convince us to cram them in the car so she could bring them back home. There was no way I was going on an eight hour drive with dead palms in my car!

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by Tonya
My mom's newest thing is dead palm leaves. She is going to make her home look all tropical and exotic by attaching them all over.

When we were in San Diego, she was trying to convince us to cram them in the car so she could bring them back home. There was no way I was going on an eight hour drive with dead palms in my car!

Dead palms are nearly better than roadkill - my mums stops if shes a dead bunny or fox and throws it in the boot of the car to take home. (She doesn't if it doesn't look fresh, is her defence ;).

Tonya, I'm starting to think we're related :)

[Nomilynn]

Things for me will be very similar. The only thing I would do differently is I will make my kids have jobs :o I never had to pay for anything my entire life. I am SOOOOOO spoiled. I don't want to be a back breaker mom but I have absolutely no idea about what it's like to be responsible with money :( I dont want my kids to have to live with worrying about paycheck to paycheck.

I also hope that I won't be as overprotective as my dad :) I love him to death, but sometimes I have to fight my own battles :)

[Uabassoon]

PCB my mom is the exact same way with ironing. Sometimes she even hires a housekeeper just to do the ironing! I don't understand it at all.

My parents were very strict with me, and I think I would be the same way but I would allow my kids a little more freedom to express themselves. I was never allowed to dye my hair or do anything like that. I think that as long as it doesn't harm the kid in any way then I would see no problem with that. My parents were also really strict about what clothes I wore. I dont think I'd be that strict. As long as it wasn't anything too revealing then I think I'd be ok with it even if I thought it was ugly.

[shais_mom]

Well, my mom cleaned house every week, religiously, and GOD forbid anything happen that she couldn't.
My sister and I are lucky to clean once a month and I clean more frequently then my sister does. I go to my sister's house and actually feel like I need a shower sometimes.
My mom and my grandmas could not stand CLUTTER at allll!!!
My sister and I both have things stacked and piled on occasion. Too me it isn't bad but it drives my mom nutso. My sister's is again waayyy worse then mine. I don't have anyone to blame but myself, but my sister has a husband and 2 kids that don't help an an ounce.
My mom and her mom never allowed animals in the house. We had our dog as a kid inside for a very short time, but when he peed and pooped he was outta there. I brought a kitten in the house one time and my best friend/neighbors could here him SCREAMING at me at their house. I was in hysterics for almost 3 hours. (when my dad yelled you knew it). My mom allows me to bring my dog inside, she wasn't to sure at first but now she even allows Keegan to be left alone outside of her crate. We don't even use the crate anymore. She got sick once and mom requested her to be in the tiled hallway the next time and I thought that was just fine... The time after that, I started to block off the hallway and mom said "no she will be ok, leave her out". I think this is a HUGE improvement, it shocks me. My Maternal grandma even allows me and my cousin to bring our dogs in her house.... which is a shock also...
My Paternal grandma (Grandma Tippy) was a HUGE animal lover they had baby pigs/lambs and dogs and cats in the house, so that must be where my sister and I got it from.
The one thing I think that I will not differ from is the actual way that I was raised. My parents weren't exactly strict and I was never ever abused in any way, (the few and far betwen times I was spanked, I definatley deserved it) but if I wasn't allowed to do something, that was pretty much the way it was. There wasn't any me telling them "No, I will do it" Like I see everyday. (the times I did do that --- see above - I got what I deserved. )And that is where my sister is night and day from my parents, when she disciplines them she doesn't follow thru. My bro in law is even less then a help. My nephews talk back, tell their mom and dad "NO" will occasionally say please and thank you but don't hold your breath, and are basically rather unpleasant to be around, their favorite thing to do is run off in a crowd. My dad tries to discipline them b/c he gets so angry (and I do too) and my mom won't let him. We tell my sister almost everytime we see them "they need to spend a week with grandpa" and it is so true. I love my nephews but I don't have to like them.... and I find that so sad, but they are so unpleasant to be around..... :(

[Barbara]

Nicole, what is your mom doing with a fresh dead fox:eek: :eek: :eek:

Differences to my parents household:
I am ironing just like you would PCB: in the morning when I want to wear the thing.

I don't vacuum daily. My cleaner does it twice a week.

We eat much more outside. We have more friends. We have cats.

In the week we don't have dinner together- because my husband and I have different time rhythms. The weekend however I like to cook and then we enjoy dinner together.

I don't iron my husband's stuff and he decides for himself what he'll wear that day (my mom used to put new clothes for my dad every morning. He would not have been able to decide which pair of socks:D ).

In the weekends we have very late breakfast and no lunch.

I use to stop at the grocery and buy fresh food for just a day or two- I hate to having the freezer full with stuff that has to be eaten before it gets old:D

That's all I can remember now- I'm sure there is more:)

[Rachel]

It is very important to me that my house is not like my mother's was....cluttered and unorganized. Although she had strong ideas about what should be cleaned and when, the house never looked clean because there was too much stuff and things in disarray. Even though it has been over 40 years since I lived with my mother, it makes me crazy when anything in my house digresses in anyway which reminds me of that chaos. I do wish I had been taught the habits of organization and techniques of keeping a tidy house when I was a child. It seems I spent much of my life *looking for misplaced items*. Simple principles of organization would have spared me all that wasted effort. I still do not consider myself an organized person as it doesn't come naturally, but it is a goal I strive for.

[Lillycat]

yep, i was right.....this is a hoot!...i think generational differences are soooooo interesting......

[catnapper]

Ok, the ironing thing in reversed in my house:
Mom wouldn't have an iron and ironing board if it wasn't for me! :D I iron hubby's and my clothes for the week Sunday night while watching King of the Hill & Simpsons. If I didn't, he'd leave for school every morning with wrinkled shirt that had two huge hanger puncture marks on the shoulder! I iron mine while I have the iron out just because I have it out. I used to iron as I needed every morning.

As for other things...
I have color on my walls. And pictures. Lots of pictures. Dad thought walls and trim were supposed to be white. Nothing else. And oh-no!!! A nail hole was the biggest sin! We'd NEVER sell the house because someone put a nail hole in the drywall! :eek: Um, dad, thats what spackle is for. And touch up paint. I am always in the middle of painting SOMETHING. I love to paint and repaint something every two years to keep it fresh and clean looking. :D

I have a royal laundry fetish. Mom used to just toss the clothes in and pull them out. I have eight baskets lined up in the basement next to the washer. As soon as clothes from the hampers upstairs they get sorted immediately. the eight baskets are as follows: white clothes, white towels. jeans, lights, mediums, darks, reds, dark towels. All heck will break loose if you "borrow" one of my laundry baskets to clean up your room. they are sacred and should be treated as such! Yes, I have an emotional problem regarding laundry. some day I'll explain why - its too involved! :D :D

The major difference in my house is that I don't cook. At all. Nothing, not even toast. I have a husband who likes to cook and three teenagers. They can do that for me. No food, no siree.


Funny thing is, I'm more like my grandmom when it comes to the house than my mom! If its not usefull, I get rid of it. If its ugly, its gone. I am a lean mean trash tossing machine! You'd call me a bold faced liar if you saw my basement, but thats all stuff I'm saving for that yard sale I intend to have.... some year. :p

The laundry thing is more like her (if she'd ever thought of it!) than my mom.

[prechrswife]

I have to admit, I'm a lot like my mother when it comes to my housekeeping habits. The only real difference here is that we have animals in the house.

[anna_66]

Dishes-my mom religiously washed dishes after we ate. Me, I hate dishes and they can sit in the sink for days:eek:

Laundry-my mom always ironed...everything! Jeans, handkerchifes, the works. I only iron if needed (and sometimes not then:p ).

Dogs-when I was young we had a poodle (yep, we were only allowed 1 dog). This way there was no hair laying all over. My mom would have freaked if she had to live with my 3 hairy kids!

Dusting & Vacuumning-my mom did it EVERY day. I probably dust once a month, if that. I usually just use the vacumn to vacumn the dust:o
But I do usually vacuumn every day, otherwise we'd be lost in the dog hair!

Shoes-my dad absolutely hated shoes anywhere but in the closet where they belong. Now that I have my own home I put my shoes wherever I want! Sometimes I will have 3-4 pairs strown throughout the house:p

Cars-we always had to wash the car and clean it out about 2x's a week. I'm lucky if mine gets cleaned out 2x's a year, but I do usually keep it washed, And I don't do it myself, I take it to the car wash. After all that's what they're for...right?!

Almost forgot this one:
Eating at the table-we were never allowed to eat anywhere but at the table. We always had our meals together.
But with only me & hubby, we eat in the living room in front of the tv. The table is used as a "catch all"!


I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of right now.
And just so you know, I'm not a nasty person, my house & car are both very tidy...just not necessarly clean:p

[Edwina's Secretary]

My mother has changed in some ways. She complains that my sister and I keep our houses too clean...:eek: :eek: and that we don't fix proper meals. (She did clean house far more when she had children at home but feels she is retired now so...oddly, my sister and I had the messiest rooms you EVER saw growing up. Kind of a role reversal.)

Her meals always have a green veg, a yellow veg, a starch, a protein, a fruit, etc.

Meals were always taken at the table, on a plate, with proper table setting. I am still that way, even if my mother isn't!

As a kid my chore was to iron hankies and pillow cases! I see the wisdom of ironing everything at once, since inevitably what I want to wear needs ironing and I don't have time. (I hate to leave the ironing board out and won't put it away until the iron is cool.)

[DogLover9501]

ALOT differently, I actually can't wait to move out!!

My number one reason that I can't wait- SMOKE!!!! I *HATE* the smoke, I hate comming home to a smokey house, and having people smoking everywhere I am, in the house, in the van, going for a walk, visiting people....EVERYWHERE.

My cleaning habbits are also MUCH different, my mom thinks the house is messy when theres a few things out of place, or if the coffee table has a few things on it that doesn't belong there...ha not me! My room is messy when I can't lay anything on my desk or night tables :p

Also, yes the pets!! We have 4 lol and I know that's pretty good. But I can't wait to get my own pets(that I want), the two small dogs are basically my moms, and will not be comming with me when I move out(I think they would die without my mom lol she can't even go anywhere over night).

I can't wait to get my Rottweiler(even got the rescue picked out that Im getting him/her from ;)) And also my cats(Purebred or mixed Ragdoll or Himmy, and a black and white cat)

Ahhhhh I can't wait ;)

[Amber]

Thought I would point out something else.

My mom makes great food for us, and something we don't do is eat at the table, and talk. We usually just go off to our own place and eat. except, if its a special holiday.


But that something I would change.

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

I don't do much differently from my parents. I handle the cleaning, laundry, etc. very similarly to my mom. Pets were always cherished in our family, and they are in mine too.

My mom's meals always had: several types of vegetables, a meat, a starch, a salad, and a bread. I don't do this! My husband is lucky to get a main entree and one side dish!

My parents weren't all that strict, but they didn't have to be because of the firm boundaries they established early on. I really respect how my parents raised my sisters and I--lots of love and confidence-building, but firm with no tolerance for disrespect at the same time. If I ever have kids, I can only hope for the same.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by catnapper

As for other things...
I have color on my walls. And pictures. Lots of pictures. Dad thought walls and trim were supposed to be white. Nothing else. And oh-no!!! A nail hole was the biggest sin! We'd NEVER sell the house because someone put a nail hole in the drywall! :eek: Um, dad, thats what spackle is for. And touch up paint. I am always in the middle of painting SOMETHING. I love to paint and repaint something every two years to keep it fresh and clean looking. :D


My inlaws have lived in their beautiful home for 15 years and they have NO pictures on the walls. NO color...zip zilch nada! "A house looks cleaner without all that junk."

My husband mentioned the other day "When we move into our new house, I don't want all this crap...All these pictures are gone. I want nothing on the walls."

Whoa! The dragon came out in Tonya on that one! I said "Let's get something clear...I know this house is brand new, but I am going to LIVE in it. Things will happen to it."

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by Lillycat
yep, i was right.....this is a hoot!...i think generational differences are soooooo interesting......

Oh I know you think its a hoot reading these, but do we get to know how your household differed from your parents too? :p :D He he he!



PCB my mom is the exact same way with ironing. Sometimes she even hires a housekeeper just to do the ironing! I don't understand it at all.

OMG, Laura, my mom did that once too!!! She only had the housekeeper come for a few days though......then decided she didn't need her when none of us wanted a housekeeper ironing our clothes. :o

All this ironing stuff reminded me of a funny story. My mom told me when she graduated from high school, her school was holding a party for all the girls graduating. My mom LOVES sewing, and made herself a beautiful dress for the party. She said she spent days making that dress, and it was just gorgeous.

Anyway, when she finished sewing the dress, she turned on the iron with the intention of ironing it in a few minutes, and left the room to use the bathroom. When she came back a few minutes later, her dress had a HUGE hole in it......in the shape of the iron. :eek: Of course my mom was upset and cried because her hard work was RUINED!

She said she walked around the house crying, and asking everyone if they knew who did it. My mom has 6 siblings.....they are 7 in total. It had to be one of them. ;) She asked everyone, and everyone said they had no clue what happened. Then my mom noticed her youngest sister, who was 9 at the time, was missing from the house. They looked EVERYWHERE for her, and she was no where in sight. It was quite obvious that she did it and ran and hid somewhere to avoid getting in trouble.

Eventually, my mom's grandma knocked on the door and she had my aunt with her. My aunt (mom's little sister) had burnt her clothes with the iron and ran away to her grandma's house. Boy did she get in BIG trouble when she got home. :p

Ever since my mom told me that story, I consider irons evil. My mom thinks her little sister was evil, but I disagree. She's my favorite aunt. She can't be evil. The iron was evil, and irons will always be evil. He he he!

As to the dress, my mom had to buy more cloth and sew the front part all over again....all thanks to the iron.

[lizzielou742]

My parents (now divorced) are very different from each other. My mom makes full home-cooked meals every night (at least when I am there!). I don't know how she does it. I wouldn't even know what to buy at the grocery store unless I have a specific recipe. Wish I did though. My dad has a unique person in many ways - he has stone Buddha statue in the front yard, hates making new friends (still best buds with his high school pals), has a tattoo of something illegal on his body...I could go on. He is also basically a sexist, at least when it came to raising his kids.That's the only thing I would really concentrate on doing differently: treating my boy and girl children the same. I was always treated a little different by my dad because I'm a girl. Nothing big - just in division of household chores (I had to do the dishes, brother had to mow the lawn, etc.) and things like that. The thing about it, though, is once you realize your parents are treating you differently than your siblings, it changes you. You think every time your brother gets away with something, it's because he's a boy (which always made me unbelievably angry). You work much much harder to be better at certain things (for me it was school) than your brother, which creates a resentment between you. I could go on...but you can imagine the possibilities. :rolleyes:

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by sirrahbed
:D The ironing got me giggling. My mom ironed everything! I'm talking clothes, pillowcases, sheets, even my dad's handerchiefs! I don't iron anything.

HAHAHAHA....

I think I have you beat on this one....

MY MOM irons her PAJAMAS.

:confused:

[caseysmom]

I think I am a little cleaner (I hope) than my mom was r.i.p. I iron once a week, not everything just about 20 items for the 4 of us. I do like the family dinner together at the table and thats how my parents were ...no tv...good manners, etc. I really think its important to do this at least a few times a week.

My parents were pretty naive about things though I think I am a lot stricter about where my kids are and what they are doing because I got away with too much. We always had 3 cats in the house but the dog was always outside.....casey is always inside.

[Lillycat]

okay, pcb, this one is for you!!! we walked home from school for lunch everyday....spent our lunchtime helping my mother do the wash for a large family....she putting it all through a wringer washer, us,. hanging it all outside on the washlines. no automatic washer, no automatic dryer. when we finished we walked back to school for the afternoon. we alllllll sat down to dinner together....we also always had a dessert after our meal. (funny what you remember eh?) we all had chores....after dinner i washed the dishes, my sister dried....no automatic dishwashers. we didnt have a t.v., so no time spent at that. we played outside after dinner/chores....hide and seek, kick the can, 4-square, jump rope, marbles, etc., etc. we did have a radio tho, and after chores/homework was done we could choose our favorite program and listen to the radio for awhile. we could read for awhile after we went to bed until lights out. i had a flashlight and continued to read long after lights out hiding w/ the flashlight reading, under the blankets......i still dearly love to read up to this day. i could go on and on, but think this is enough. raising my own children we had automatic everything..,..also t.v.....kids sooo busy playing sports dinnertime wasnt everything i wanted it to be......too many times not together. i think it is wonderful that your family honors a family dinnertime. i truly believe that is very important and at the heart of family life. BUT, all in all, i turned out alright and also, my kids turned out alright.....so what is the lesson here? (see, the schoolteacher always comes out) neither generation is really better or worse, just different......bottom line, pcb....i still think this is a great thread! Thanks!!! lillycat

[carole]

I dunno Richard, my mother even irons the underwear, and has been known to iron the sheets and the facecloths, and PJ'S well that goes without saying, I think she almost irons everything in sight, watch out mum's kitty Tessa lol.:) :D

I really think Mum has too much time on her hands, she should join PT, but she won't go near a computer.:)

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by Lillycat
okay, pcb, this one is for you!!! we walked home from school for lunch everyday....spent our lunchtime helping my mother do the wash for a large family....she putting it all through a wringer washer, us,. hanging it all outside on the washlines. no automatic washer, no automatic dryer. when we finished we walked back to school for the afternoon. we alllllll sat down to dinner together....we also always had a dessert after our meal. (funny what you remember eh?) we all had chores....after dinner i washed the dishes, my sister dried....no automatic dishwashers. we didnt have a t.v., so no time spent at that. we played outside after dinner/chores....hide and seek, kick the can, 4-square, jump rope, marbles, etc., etc. we did have a radio tho, and after chores/homework was done we could choose our favorite program and listen to the radio for awhile. we could read for awhile after we went to bed until lights out. i had a flashlight and continued to read long after lights out hiding w/ the flashlight reading, under the blankets......i still dearly love to read up to this day. i could go on and on, but think this is enough. raising my own children we had automatic everything..,..also t.v.....kids sooo busy playing sports dinnertime wasnt everything i wanted it to be......too many times not together. i think it is wonderful that your family honors a family dinnertime. i truly believe that is very important and at the heart of family life. BUT, all in all, i turned out alright and also, my kids turned out alright.....so what is the lesson here? (see, the schoolteacher always comes out) neither generation is really better or worse, just different......bottom line, pcb....i still think this is a great thread! Thanks!!! lillycat

Wow! Your life was so different from our's! You listened the the radio in the evening? :p I surf PT when everything's done. He he he!

One thing is similar though. I remember my dad picking up my brother and I from school to eat lunch at home when we were very young.....in our first years of school. I don't remember why they did that, but we used to go home for lunch everyday, and then after eating, we would go back to school. My dad still comes home for lunch from work, so we even eat lunch together most of the time. Dinner is always eaten as a family though. Even if I'm not hungry and don't want to eat, I will still go and sit at the table, just to chat with the rest of the family. My mom also cooks dinner everyday, which is something I love, because my mom cooks sooooooo good! Everyone loves her cooking. A lot of my friends survive on canned food because their moms don't cook anymore. I don't think this is something I will change either. I will cook for my family. I'd want them to eat healthy, and the best way to ensure that is by making your own meals, because you know what you put in it.

Just NO IRONING! :eek::D

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by popcornbird
...
Just NO IRONING! :eek::D

Pops, I am with you. The cats knocked our iron off the shelf a while ago and we went to buy a new one. I picked a purple one because all I know about irons is that purple is a nice colour ;). Shane made the final purchasing decision :D

[CathyBogart]

Darn right I will! Houses with no kids tend to be run differently. :)

[Tonya]

Originally posted by WolfChan
Darn right I will! Houses with no kids tend to be run differently. :)

OMG, they do! I wouldn't have half the cooking and cleaning!

[Lillycat]

pcb, you are lucky to have the family life you have! and it is wonderful that you enjoy it so! i never got into the ironing thing...but i will tell you another family secret.... i love to iron.....it is a good feeling to see everything so neatened up!!!

[cloverfdx]

My home will definatly be run differently, their will be NO messy older Brother who cannot pick up after himself :mad:.

I will allow those "killer fighting dogs" into my home (My fathers words of wisdom when i wanted a Staffordshire bull terrier) i was not allowed to have one.

Kay i agree my home will be quiet, apart from the occasional barking dog.

My home will also be smoke free, you want to smoke you go outside.

Our/ My eating habbits wont change, there is no sitting around at the kitchen table here to often unless we have visitors.

I also iron when i need to wear the clothes, my Mum and Bro are the same.

I guess i will be the only one who cleans also, nothing changing there ;).