Seven Things Our Kids Do (or Don't Do) That Surprise Us

I grew up with five siblings, as did my husband, so we thought we knew what raising seven kids would be like, but sometimes our offspring still surprise us.  For instance...

1) Shotgun

My kids have never called Shotgun.  When we get in the car, the oldest gets in the passenger seat, and the rest get in the back, and nobody fights about it.  Isn't that weird?  I remember always trying to run out to the car first to get the precious front seat.  Our younger kids just defer to their older sibling.

2) Food

My kids ask permission to eat anything in the house.  They ask if certain leftovers are off limits, they ask if they can have a snack, they ask what's for lunch, etc.  This absolutely floors me as I remember just going into the fridge or pantry whenever I wanted and eating whatever I wanted.  I think this started because our firstborn was such a people pleaser & rule follower and the rest of the kids followed suit.

3) Sleepovers

I know why our kids don't do friend sleepovers (family sleepovers are fine), and it's because we say no to them.  But they don't seem to mind the rule very much at all!  Both my husband and I can remember begging to go on sleepovers all the time when we were kids.  We both regretted those sleepovers after, feeling sleep-deprived and sick the next day, and it makes me happy that our young kids don't seem to miss it.  Our oldest did sit us down before his senior year of high school to discuss the sleepover rule, and we agreed with his points that senior year would be a good transitional year before leaving home for college to allow our kids to have friend sleepovers.

4) Independence

I'm pretty sure most parents feel this way, but our kids are so much less independent than we were growing up.  We would ride our bikes around, meet up with friends and not come home until the street lights went on.  We would go into stores and spend our money, head to the beach or park, go to the library and check out books, all sorts of things on our own.  My kids are nervous to ride their bike on the bike path or buy something at the convenience store alone until they are much much older.

5) Hanging with Friends

Hanging out with friends was LIFE for us growing up, but my kids don't do it nearly as much.  We used to make friends with anyone even close to our age in our neighborhood, but our kids don't even know who lives in the neighborhood.  Instead they can play xbox with friends/cousins or text them on the phone, but hanging out in person happens extremely infrequently until they get their driver's license.  

6) Saint Life

I give credit to our kids' Catholic elementary school and our parish where they learn and celebrate saints all year long.  Because of this, they grow a true desire to become a saint, and it is easy to help them navigate their choices in life.  Does this help you get to heaven or not?  What did St. Francis teach us about helping the poor?  What would a saint do in this case?  I just remember not wanting to get in trouble, but not necessarily trying to become a saint, which puts a much more positive spin on choosing certain behaviors.

7) Stage Presence

Phil and I used to both have horrific stage fright.  He outgrew his and became a teacher and I didn't and became an accountant :)  Again, I give credit to their school and our parish where my kids are all very involved, but they seem to have no fear to get up in front of people to speak or volunteer to get on a stage/altar or even say yes to playing the role of Sparty (the high school mascot) when asked:

Hey Andrew!

These kids certainly keep us on our toes, and simultaneously make us feel old and while keeping us young!  But in general, it seems like our kids are better than us, and that's really the hope of all parents everywhere, am I right?