"This Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You"

It's true! This hurts me more than it hurts you. It is so much easier to say yes than say no. When my children want something, it is difficult for me not to give it to them and it is even harder to discipline them. Naturally I want to have happy children and it feels good knowing their happiness is a direct result of my superb parenting. And when I see potential unhappiness in their eyes, there is an instinctive urge to give into them, fix their problem, excuse their behavior and make it all better. But parenting isn't about making easy choices, it's about making tough ones. I know that coddling only gives them temporary happiness that is followed with them expecting to always have their way. This isn't doing them any favors in the long run. So as heart wrenching as it is and no matter how unnatural it feels I try not to take the easy way out. It is my job to make the tough decisions. As my parents said to me, I now say to my children, "This hurts me more than it hurts you." Because sometimes parenting seems impossible.