We Can Dish it Out, But Can We Take It?

I have written a similar post before, but this topic seems to rear it's ugly head over and over for me.

As parents, do we practice what we preach? Are we holding our children to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to?

As a mom, I want better for my kids than I had and I think that is quite typical. I want them to live longer, be more prepared, have a better education, be more content, dream bigger, laugh longer, etc.  But is MY desire for THEM  be the best they can be, unfair?

I am not talking pushing them in sports or punishing them for a "B" on their report card.  That is not my personality, so I do not struggle with that.  Besides, that is a whole nother topic for a different day.

I am talking about little daily things. 

Do we tell them to limit their TV time, but then close our bedroom door to binge on our favorite show?

Do we tell them that they do not need so much sugar while hiding our hidden treat stash in the veggies? 

Do we tell them to turn off the Xbox and play outside while we stare at our phones? 

Do we tell them to keep their room clean only to know that we have a never ending pile of laundry that gets laundered but not put away. I could go on, but you get the point.

I struggle within myself wondering if it is okay that I do these things because I have a different level of responsibility than they do or is it unfair that I hold them to expectations that I, myself, do not meet?

Should I start to let them have that one extra show as I might do for myself, or should I force myself to turn off my own show? It sounds much more responsible to raise the expectations I have for myself than to lower the bar for my kids, but is my bar too high? Should the bar bet set somewhere in the middle?


I know this post is more questions than answers, but it is what is on my mind today. If you have some answers, I would love to hear them.