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If you are a mom blogger, then you almost certainly heard the "Meanest Mom" story spreading like wildfire across the news wires and internet last week. Jane Hambleton, an Iowa mom, found liquor in her teenage son's car, and she ran the following ad in the local paper:
"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet." (MSNBC)
The momosphere went nuts over this story. "My new hero!" wrote Erin here at BlogHer. Adrienne at Baby Toolkit, who has had too many close brushes with drunk drivers wrote
When it comes to driving and alcohol, taking away the keys temporarily probably isn't lesson enough. I'm really proud of Jane Hambleton for going public with this important lesson for parents and young drivers.
A similar story crossed the wires before Christmas, of a dad who found his son smoking pot in the backyard. The dad had just bought the boy Guitar Hero for Christmas, but he turned right around and sold it on Ebay (for $9,000, by the way--you can see the listing here).
Learning At Home made an interesting point:
The saddest part I see in this is that a parent made the news for standing up and doing the right thing.
To be fair, part of the news-worthiness of these stories lies in the fact that the parents made a stand in such a public way (the want ads and E-bay). But I think these stories catch on like this because they resound so deeply with parents.
Parenting is hard. Being consistent with your kids, doing the difficult (and unpopular thing), creating consequences for negative behavior--all these things demand so much of us. Stories like these bolster my resolve and remind me I'm not alone in setting firm boundaries for my kids. I will have the courage to say no when it's necessary. I will follow through on my word. I will make my kids' lives very uncomfortable when they break our family rules.
I'll do it because I know that consistent boundaries will communicate my love to my kids, even if it makes their eyes roll in the process. And I'll do it knowing that firm and loving parenting helps grow children into functioning, responsible adults. My "mean" parents did it to me--my mom stayed up late on weekend nights to "hear about my evening" (read: sniff my breath), and my dad bought me a clunker for my first car (I wrecked it within two months of turning 16; clearly he knew exactly what he was doing). I respect them for it, especially now that I'm a parent myself.
Don't miss these other great mean mom posts:
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C Berry Baby's reprints an essay from the 1960's on being a "mean mom".
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Just*dot*Christina examines her own tough love approach.
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Julie Clark writes a parenting advice column at AskMeanMom, with her mantra being "say what you mean and mean what you say!"
--Contributing Editor Shannon also writes at Rocks In My Dryer and Bloggy Giveaways.
