Braggin' Rights and Rules

By Melissa Ford
Parents naturally get braggin’ rights; it comes with the territory. Why? Because there are so many times when parents are forced to deal with unpleasantries such as:
- Receiving a call from your child’s preschool teacher informing you that your son hides during clean-up.
- Your daughter, in the checkout lane at Jewel, throws herself on the floor, arms and legs flailing, because you won’t buy her that chocolate bar.
- Striking out, your 8-year-old son slams his bat on the ground while kicking dirt over home plate (You watch in disbelief from the bleachers, sitting next to parents of the most well-behaved kid on the baseball team)!
If you choose to boast about your kid, remember, you must be judicious in exercising this right. Over the years, I created my own personal Boasting/Bragging Rules in order to ensure that my swelling, gushing pride doesn’t cause others to run in the opposite direction. Here are a few tips:
- Don’t monopolize the conversation: When conversing with friends (or complete strangers), avoid droning on and on about your child’s great accomplishments or experiences (unless they are really good friends, who will only judge you later in private). Say you are proud and move on.
- FaceBook: Photos on FB are like the old slide shows documenting your child’s amazing accomplishments. Keep your uploaded photos under 100 per event (I’m being generous here).
- If you must brag: (and we all have to) find one or two people who are truly interested in your incessant boasting: partner, grandparents, in-laws, favorite aunts or uncles, next-door neighbor with a hearing problem, school counselors (My kids’ high school counselor, Brandi Ambrose, would always listen to me enthuse about my teens. She’s incredibly polite, never rolling her eyes when I’ve yammered on and on).
- Keep a journal: (This supplants the baby book) and fill it up with your offspring’s successes.
- Keeping-It-Real: Every once in awhile spill a truth about your kid: she’s sloppy and lazy, your college-age son got a D in Bowling 101, your daughter broke curfew and was pulled over by the police.
- Cut-Yourself-Slack: You will break these rules often. I broke every one just days before I uploaded this post. . .
Do you have any other great tips or rules to share when it comes to crowing about your kid? Is it acceptable or just plain rude to brag? Please share your thoughts, even if your children aren’t gifted like mine!
Contact:
Email: melissa@empoweredcoachingsolutions.com
Reader Comments
No Comments - Add Your Comment
Note: This page requires you to login with Facebook to comment.
Facebook Connect
Answer Book 2017
To view the full print edition of the Wednesday Journal 2017 Answer Book, please click here. |
Quick Links
Sign-up to get the latest news updates for Oak Park and River Forest. | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Subscribe | Classified |
Multimedia | Contact us |
Submit Letter To The Editor | |
Place a Classified Ad |
Latest Comments
Words cannot express the Pride that I feel, when I...
By Monda Roberts
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 12:38 PM
I agree Tom. When I hear the latest artifice from D200...
By Bruce Kline
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 11:30 AM
People who continually rant and rave about replacing a...
By Bruce Kline
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 11:15 AM
Pritzker wants traders to be here only so he can tax...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 6:53 AM
Imagine an OPRF where the people get to stay in town...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 6:37 AM
Its old so it has to be replaced. The money is in the...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: April 22nd, 2018 6:30 AM
Incorrect information is posted on the OPRF website,...
By Monica Sheehan
Posted: April 21st, 2018 11:04 AM
Is the VOP still doing mandatory yearly inspections on...
By Jolyn Crawford
Posted: April 21st, 2018 9:26 AM