Parenting Pet Peeves

Pet peeves – We’ve all got them. Those annoying little things in life, which irritate us, make our skin crawl or make us want to yell at the top of our lungs.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people decide for themselves to form one long line behind three cashiers at the local drugstore.  There’s no sign that says to form one line. Why can’t they just form three lines instead of this entitled one line and I got here first attitude. Just pick a cashier line, commit to them. Find peace in the fact we don’t have to control the line flow.

Parenting pet peeves are no different. When I told my husband I was going to write about pet peeves this week, he said something to the effect of, “How will you turn it into a positive?”  Well, I have no idea. What’s positive about a pet peeve? I guess our pet peeves show us how uptight we can be? They show us how out-of-control we can be when it comes to enforcing household rules with our kids. Pet peeves provide us with a choice: do I let this pet peeve tip me over the anger edge, or do I say who cares and hang onto my peace. Or better yet, do I figure out a way around this pet peeve and make it a win-win?

Here are my top parenting pet peeves and ways I handle them – for better or worse:

#1- When I go to pull out hairbands for my daughters’ ponytails and all 50 of them, which I bought a month ago, are gone. Oh there may be a few strewn about their rooms or in the bathroom, but it’s like they literally disappear. I’ve tried many times to enforce the rule that the girls put the hairbands back where they belong. But, now I just succumb to the fact I’m going to buy packets of 50 hairbands every three months.

#2- When I reach for my pair of scissors, or a roll of tape, and they’re no longer in my kitchen drawer. How is it I buy them several pairs of scissors and inevitably they go for mine. I now buy them their own Scotch tape rolls so they’ll leave mine alone. I know we should teach sharing, but there comes a point when mommy’s stuff is off limits.

#3- The pool of water which forms outside their shower because once again they’ve forgotten to keep the shower curtain liner inside the shower. Love when that happens.

#4- Can’t we use just one cup per child per day? I’m tempted to store away all cups use a black sharpie marker on their cups.

#5- The broken record syndrome: pick up your clothes, make up your bed, put your dishes away.