The hypocrisy of parenthood
They fuck you up, a Larkin quote,
The antics of your mum and dad.
He had it right, bang on the note,
The way we treat our kids is bad.
We tell them that it's good to share,
Then, greedily, we hoard our stuff.
We talk of tolerance and care;
Hide racist views as talking tough.
We show them how the birds and bees
Have sex but just to procreate;
No mention of the pleasure spree
A good sex-life can actuate.
Illiterate and blind to books
We teach that reading is a must.
We party on, draw dirty looks;
When they get drunk, we show disgust.
Be brave, we say, be tough, be strong;
If we're upset, our nerves are raw.
We teach them that to fight is wrong
Yet once again, we go to war.
We have a huge responsibility to teach our children the right way. Ollie has already published his first novel, and Benji is working on his, so at least I got the books bit right 😅
Perhaps I’m a bad parent in some people’s eyes. I taught my boys that if you can’t talk yourself out of a situation, and they punch you in the nose, then stand up straight and punch them back. My mother taught me that when I was bullied in 3rd grade, how to punch without breaking my knuckles. I never had to teach my boys how to punch; they learned that “survival skill” after living a few years in an orphanage. Regretably, this is coming across a bit terse and defensive, and I don’t mean it to be. 😫
No need to feel defensive. We do what we feel is right for our kids, or at least most of us do. You have left me with a vision of you fighting a boxing match, wearing your gardening gloves. 😂
Yeah parenting is a contradiction in and of itself, we mean well in an effort to protect the little ones. Sometimes I wonder if it really does that. Maybe they need to experience the world as it really is so that they are ready and able to cope when they leave the nest. As for fighting there are times it is justified. I have always taught my kids to defend themselves if necessary using as little force as necessary. That essentially means use your words to de-escalate and if that doesn’t work, do what you need to stop the the threat, nothing more and nothing less.
Being a good parent is a tough job Hobbo. Kids piss you off…they wind you up…you spend you’re hard earned cash on em and they don’t give a toss…but it’s been the best thing in my life mate. Made plenty of mistakes along the way but got three reasonable well adjusted adults….well nearly anyway.
Got three. Middle daughter was a teenage nightmare. At 15 she said she was leaving home and will only come back to have her clothes washed and food…..you can imagine what we said…
Hobbo's Poems 
We have a huge responsibility to teach our children the right way. Ollie has already published his first novel, and Benji is working on his, so at least I got the books bit right 😅
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Good for you. They will go a long way with your encouragement. Happy ‘International women’s day’ BTW! 😂
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And to you, Hobbo, thank you! 🌟
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true
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🙂
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👏👏🤔🤔👍👍Brilliant Hobbo! 😁
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Thank you, Ken
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You’re welcome sir! 😁🙏
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Are you saying that the f’ers f and then f up the f’ees? That’s f’ed.
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🤣 I’m just paraphrasing Larkin!
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I’m just paraphrasing the odd Aussie you hear around the place. 😉
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😂 Strewth!
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Yeah. Fair crack o’ the whip. It can be bloody hard keeping up.
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LOL
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Perhaps I’m a bad parent in some people’s eyes. I taught my boys that if you can’t talk yourself out of a situation, and they punch you in the nose, then stand up straight and punch them back. My mother taught me that when I was bullied in 3rd grade, how to punch without breaking my knuckles. I never had to teach my boys how to punch; they learned that “survival skill” after living a few years in an orphanage. Regretably, this is coming across a bit terse and defensive, and I don’t mean it to be. 😫
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No need to feel defensive. We do what we feel is right for our kids, or at least most of us do. You have left me with a vision of you fighting a boxing match, wearing your gardening gloves. 😂
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I’m actually a very peaceable old bat 😂
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An iron fist in gardening gloves 😂
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I’m with Misky. I didn’t want my kids to learn to roll over and do dog tricks (no offence Dauphy).
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😂 No offence taken 🐾
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Yeah parenting is a contradiction in and of itself, we mean well in an effort to protect the little ones. Sometimes I wonder if it really does that. Maybe they need to experience the world as it really is so that they are ready and able to cope when they leave the nest. As for fighting there are times it is justified. I have always taught my kids to defend themselves if necessary using as little force as necessary. That essentially means use your words to de-escalate and if that doesn’t work, do what you need to stop the the threat, nothing more and nothing less.
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Nothing to disagree with here, my friend. Absolutely spot on. 😂
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Oh man, this one is a dagger straight in, Hobbo. I have many of these hypocrisies to face up to. Thanks for sharing this eye-opening poem.
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I am also guilty as charged!
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Excellent writing. To sum up parenting. Don’t do as I do, do as I say!
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That’s the saying! 😂
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Apparently a maternity hospital was bombed today in Ukraine
I mean 😭
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I know. I know. It is unspeakably awful. 😢
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I just have no words
It reminds me of Iran bombing a childrens hospital twelve or more years ago
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😢😢😢
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Being a good parent is a tough job Hobbo. Kids piss you off…they wind you up…you spend you’re hard earned cash on em and they don’t give a toss…but it’s been the best thing in my life mate. Made plenty of mistakes along the way but got three reasonable well adjusted adults….well nearly anyway.
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I only have two; it was enough. I agree, we make a lot of mistakes, who doesn’t, but it’s all worth it in the end.
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Got three. Middle daughter was a teenage nightmare. At 15 she said she was leaving home and will only come back to have her clothes washed and food…..you can imagine what we said…
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😂 it’s a long time ago since we went through that teenage phase…
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She wanted her hair dyed black and the schools policy was no coloured hair….. luckily now she’s a bit better!
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👍 She could’ve chosen a worse colour!
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