Being The Fun Parent Is The Best

fun mom

When my first child was born, I had not given much thought about what type of parent I would be. I don’t mean a particular parenting style– I just couldn’t picture how I would interact with my kids. I am kind of a strange person in that I am very anxious about certain things but extremely laid-back about others. I honestly had no idea how it would translate for me as a mother. I wondered how I would come across to my kids as their parent.

As it turns out, I am the fun parent. I never saw it coming, but it’s awesome. I absolutely relish being the person to make my kids smile as often as possible- the one they run to when they want to be silly. Sure, I have my moments of being uptight and impatient but my overall demeanor is pretty damn twinkly. I love to rock out with them in the car wherever we are going. I enjoy reading them stories and doing a bunch of different voices (thank you, musical theater background). We have “dance parties” at home all the time and between my kids and I, there are countless inside jokes. I am known to say yes to random “can I have a doughnut” requests far more often than my husband and I let them stay up late on Friday nights to watch an extra show pretty much every week. None of what I allow spoils them- I am not letting them buy up the toy section at Target or taking them our for daily Happy Meals. I just try to let fun reign as often as I can, as long as they are well-behaved. They are good kids- I think they deserve it.

My husband has always been the more serious and mature of the two of us so I guess it does not surprise me that he is the “business” end of our parenting duo. He is the family financial wizard, the one who takes care of our cars and the one who knows the ins and outs of our house and insurance policies. He keeps track of our medical documents, birth certificates and social security cards. He is the Chandler to my Joey, basically. He is a fun person and the kids adore him but when it comes down to it, he is the one to stick to the schedule and not allow ice cream an hour before bedtime. He is far more likely to just buy himself a coffee at Tim Horton’s and ignore the doughnut beggars in the back seat without batting an eye.

I’m not sure if it’s my people-pleasing nature or my love for my kids but I like being the one to give the good news. I definitely discipline when needed and my children know who is in charge but when things are going well, I am glad to be the family clown. I hope my kids look back on it fondly one day when they have children of their own and remember the value of a mom who can be silly and make them laugh.

(Image: Africa Studio/Shutterstock)

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