Over at Mom’s Talk Network, Christina started a new meme: Motherhood Lessons. I wasn’t tagged but what a great idea! So I figured I’d play along. Especially with my Grandma not with us anymore, I’ve been thinking about her a lot. Thinking about her isn’t new though.

Motherhood Lessons: The object is simple: share with us and your readers a lesson that you learned from your own mom, a special mom in your life, or while raising your own children. There’s no right or wrong answers…just lessons that each of us can learn and implement with our own children.

Link your post back to this one, leave a comment below so we can visit and learn from you, and then tag 2-3 other moms to participate.

One really important lesson I learned from my Mom and Grandma – kids come first and are more important.

Nephew, nephew, daughter, son

Let me explain with examples – my kids play with my craft stuff and sometimes the stuff gets spilled or used up. I have really expensive markers, as many card makers/scrapbookers do, and my kids use them sometimes to color. Here’s why:

kids come first and are more important

Who cares if a marker costs however much money – your kids are more important then a marker. Sure we teach kids to take care of things and how to properly use things like markers, but if one gets ruined or used up is it really worth it to get so angry? No. Your kids matter more then a marker. (This example hits home to me as Chris commented to a friend who had her markers up on a shelf where her kids couldn’t reach – she said they were really expensive, so he came home and asked why our kids play with mine.)

When my brothers and I were kids this was exactly how our Grandma treated us. She loved to do crossword puzzles and would often give us a book and a pencil so we could too. We may have been three years old and scribbled in the boxes or drew pictures or scribbled all over the page. She didn’t mind and if she wanted to do that puzzle would erase the marks we made.

In visiting her one would think kids were allowed to do whatever they wanted. And they were – as long as no one got hurt and nothing got broken. If you (as the parent or adult) would tell your kid or whatever kid was acting up (in your eyes) to stop, Grandma would tell you to leave them alone, they weren’t hurting anything, they are just being kids. Or she’d say they are just kids, what’s wrong with that.

She raised her kids the same way so most of the time my Mom and Aunts and Uncles have the same attitude. One of my Uncle’s is the best at this – he manages a grocery store and always gives the little ones candy or chocolate because they are just kids. Brush your teeth he’d say, chocolate is good for you. Kids are just being kids, candy isn’t going to ruin their lives.

Another example is that my nephews go to their Grandma’s house and run and jump over the couch and get all the toys out and books and read and play. And they go to their other Grandma’s house where they sit perfectly still and don’t play. Which Grandma would you want? I’ll take the fun one that lets me jump and read and play, thanks. 🙂

I could list thousands of examples in my life as a mom and as a granddaughter and daughter proving this. Kids come first and are more important then the markers you bought or then the strict rule of no cookies before bed.

I’ll tag:

• Marie @ Mommy Community
• Chelle @ Creative Thoughts
• Dulcie @ House of Hayes
• Jen @ One Mom’s World
• Carrie @ Natural Mom’s Talk Radio

And you if you would like to play along! Jump right in, I did.