Yeah, Andy, I can actually relate to much of what you said, and so too can my children
You wrote:
"I'm always the one rolling around on the floor with them. Tickling them. Playing video games with them. Reading them Harry Potter books. Playing hide and seek in the house till we bump something and knock it over."
Well, almost all of it,................... we did not do all this until we knocked something over.............. LOL!
Sure, Andy, we did all these types of things as well
When they were "little" (a long time ago) I would give them piggy back or horsey rides, watched shows and movies with them on the TV, played video games with them, tickled them, let them and their mom wrestle me on our bed, drew & colored with them, read to them, and much, much more
Yes we surely did, but not where we would naturally have problems with them breaking things, or in areas where we saw there could be a danger for them, or even where "knocking something over" of some importance to us would be an obvious problem. Usually these things were done in the kid's bedrooms, or ours. These were and are our more relaxed settings. Did that mean that I would allow them to run and jump in their rooms or anywhere else in the house?...... no it did not. Did it mean they could be careless with their rooms electronics or furniture?.............. no, it did not. In other words, we all surely had lots of fun together, but some basic rules were still followed
My home has different areas where we do different things (as I feel it should be).
Examples:
Our dining room is where we like to sit together as a family to "eat" our meals and "drink" our food. This includes my wife and I, my children, and any guests that may come over to dine with us.
The kitchen is where we as a family huddle sometimes to pester my wife to see what she's cooking for us. It's a place where I sometimes dabble with my cooking. It's where we have our main indoor trash can. It's where we wash our dishes. A place where the kids go to get some snacks or drinks, or even to munch and drink something while they are in there.
Our bedroom (wife's and mine) is where I use my computer, where my wife and I may watch our room TV while eating and drinking a snack, where my wife and I sleep, where we take our naps, where we usualy read, where we usually get dressed, and other things.
The kids each have their own bedrooms, and they do similar things in their rooms that we do in our's. They both have their own TV's, they both have their own laptop computers, they both have their own stereo systems, my daughter has her own refrigerator. They entertain their friends in their rooms, they get dressed in their rooms, my daughter uses her vanity to put on her make-up. This is "their" relaxed area of our home, as my wife and I have "our" bedroom for a more relaxed environment.
Even so, we respect these relaxed areas of our home, and follow certain basic rules for each area. We are extremely careful with food and drink, we do not run and jump in any part of the house, and we try to maintain a certain amount of tidyness and a "definite" amount of cleansiness in all areas.
The bathroom is where we shower, brush our teeth, take care of #1 and #2, shave, dress, weigh ourselves, and so on. We keep this area tidy as a family, especially since we all surely get our fair share of it's use.
The living room is where we may gather when we are discussing things as a family. Where I or my wife may go to when the other is watching something on the bedroom TV, and you want to watch something different. Where friends may gather to talk when they come over. Where we all sometimes gather to watch a TV program or to watch a movie together. Where I may read some, or sit down and just relax while hearing some music.
Then there is the outdoor areas, and there the rules that are followed indoors are mostly discarded. Now, playing Basketball, football, running, jumping, being a bit loud, etc, become a normal thing.
But, even then, we expect a proper tidyness and cleansiness pattern to be followed. One does not just go outside and feel free to start littering. One does not do things outside that may disturb neighbors once it's late in the evening, etc. In other words, common sense comes into play in all aspects of our lives, and I expect my kids to have that good common sense.
How do I see things?............ Well, my view is that there is a place and time for everything. With certain things, areas can serve to overlap with activities. With other areas, I feel that their is little to no overlapping, where something is simply more appropriate to do in one place than another.
Again, I know opinions will vary, and there are usually a lot of roads that will take you to the same place, but this road we follow works well for us
I guess what I'm trying to say is this,........... just because we follow a certain pattern of disipline in our lives, does not mean that we do not enjoy our lives. It does not mean that my children did not enjoy their childhood, but only that there may have been a certain higher level of disipline added to their lives when compared to some, probably less when compared to some others
