As much as I hate parenting advice, this. Trying to hold everything together and simultaneously shape the habits of humans with free will and their own ideas wi

As much as I hate parenting advice, this. Trying to hold everything together and simultaneously shape the habits of humans with free will and their own ideas without resorting to violence doth a crazy person make. So sometimes we eat burned dinner cuz someone was acting like an asshole. Sometimes play dates "fall through" because someone thought they'd obligate a parent to do something they hadn't even discussed. Good God nothing teaches like bad experiences, and my wife and I can maintain some shred of sanity. Actually that's not fair, our children are a joy ( and exhausting). It's one thing for your teenager to sob because she didn't have any spending money for the surprise trip somewhere with great shopping because she blew all her money instead of saving it for a great opportunity. It's a completely other thing to have to learn that lesson as an adult.