I am naturally pretty laid back when it comes to parenting. My kids are not on a strict schedule. They normally eat whatever I am eating, run around bare foot all the time (even have been known to be naked occasionally) and are free to try to do things themselves. Sometimes I feel irresponsible because I don't have special rules for them to follow. Unless there are clear signs of impending doom, I usually let them roam, play and generally figure things out on their own. My mother says I parent as if Calvin (my first) was my fifth child. I believe my parenting style mostly comes from being the second oldest of 6 kids, and experience tells me that the majority of the things little ones do won't kill them. They usually end up learning something from all their shenanigans. Yeah, this way of parenting is pretty groovy to some, but I feel like most of the time I am seen as lazy or apathetic.
Lately though there have been several times where my laid-back-ness has allowed some hurts and very near catastrophes to happen. So I have been interested in tightening up the reins on my own parenting style. The problem is I don't know where to draw the lines so to speak. Are there clear lines between irresponsibility and hyper-parenting? I just don't know when to say, "Yes, now I am responsible enough." Sure there will always be times when I feel like I am not as good as a parent as I should be. But there is always room for improvement too. Just wondering where to draw the line. It can't all be hazy, can it?
