Do You Have To Be An Overbearing Mom If You’re Protective?
As soon as you become a mom, you resign yourself to the fact that you’re going to be overbearing. Well, better that than letting them make mistakes that haunt your kids for the rest of their lives, right? Of course, the older your children get, the more it hurts when they look at you as if you’re, like, so totally not cool! And, moms know better than anyone how that resentment in kids’ eyes can cut to the bone.
If only you could be protective and cut them some slack. Well, you can if you follow the advice underneath.
4 ways to be a protective mom without being an overbearing mom
Track Them Stealthily
It’s one thing tracking them without their knowledge, and another being brazen about your undercover activities. Although the idea of being honest and upfront with your kids sounds incredible, it’s tough when they aren’t mature enough to grasp your motives. To them, they are adults who don’t need protecting. The excellent news is that this website was created with protective parents in mind.
Whether you want to monitor online activity or their location, you can do both with the app. If you feel uncomfortable telling white lies, you can offer them a trade.
Tell them you’ll pay for their devices so long as they don’t uninstall the software.
Draw Lines In The Sand
There are cool moms, and there are uncool moms, but never any in-between. Realistically, the former is almost impossible as it means not being a responsible adult. Sure, you want nothing more than to go shopping and bond, yet you also must teach them life lessons. Thankfully, there is a middle ground. By drawing lines in the sand regarding non-negotiable rules, you can be less highly strung about everything else.
Take the car as an example.
You might not let them drive with their friends in the passenger seats because it’s dangerous, but there’s nothing wrong with meeting them at the mall. This post is great for inspiration.
Be Patient
“Have you done your homework? Do it right now!” How many times have kids heard this come out of their mom’s mouth? The answer is in the millions, and while it’s a logical, it isn’t conducive to their laidback lifestyle. You have to trust them to make positive decisions without you getting on their back, or else they will never learn. Therefore, you should remind them, of course, yet there’s no need to nag. Whether it’s the dishes or their homework, you should be patient and let them go at their pace.
Give Reassurance
For the moms who can’t help but be protective, even against their better judgment, there is still a solution: an explanation. Explaining why you make specific decisions should help your kids understand the method behind the perceived madness. Yes, sometimes they won’t care and pull their faces regardless. However, there will be times when they are responsive, and these are massive breakthroughs.
Why?
It’s because they will be able to make decisions with you in mind and take the responsibility off your shoulders.
To answer the question – no, you don’t have to be overbearing. What you need is to understand their behavior and try and be flexible wherever possible.
Kori
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