The Queen's Advice

Welcome to Stubborn Princess. For as long as I have been a mother, 21 years this April, that is just what I have had, a stubborn princess. With 3 kids, 2 princesses and a prince, I've had my fair share of eyebrow raising, arm hair prickling, remarkable experiences. At arms length, they appear to be good, obedient kids. It's still early though.

With one out and two to go, this queen knows that there's plenty of room for crooked tiaras and tarnished crowns on those pretty little heads. Long ago, someone suggested that I document this road of splendid activity, share with others. But if you are a parent, you already know that splendid is not always the right word.

As a young parent, I had no idea what I was doing. Nursing was difficult, sleeping was difficult, showering was difficult. No bliss there. Mostly, I would hand princess over to her grandmother. When the nanny came, I handed her over. I must have forgotten the difficult part of infancy because princess became a big sister at 10, and again at 12. It was like starting all over again. I was seasoned, but still didn't know what I was doing. My husband sure didn't have a clue.

You've probably read a zillion blogs where mothers give useful advice and practical tips on how to raise children. I will spare you. Everything that we've done in our house was a shot from the hip. Usually after completely ignoring my own mother's words on how to quiet a colicky baby, or what to rub on teething gums. As the children grew, the faux great aunts would offer disciplinary rules and best practices on how to straighten up an unruly kid. Again, ignoring them seemed the better road if things went wrong. I had to live with this kid. They didn't.

The queen of this brood certainly does not have any unique tips to getting a perfect kid. If you are looking for advice for how to do some perfect raising, you've come to the wrong place. Rather, I would tell you to ask someone else who has raised perfect children, with perfect manners, and perfect behaviors. Good luck there.