Parenting 101

Recently, parents have confided in Sara and I, asking for our advice on parenting, which felt ridiculous as a 23-year-old who neither has the appropriate experience, nor thinks about the subject often (if at all), nor has formally learned about parenting.

Think on these situations. Imagine what I may have been thinking when asked. Imagine the general sentiment here in Peru – an infinite amount of trust in whoever is introduced as a “specialist” and the possible lack of open conversation or education on the subject of parenting.

1. Last week my nephew hit my son. Since then my son has been reacting to all new people he meets by hitting them. How do I erase information that he’s already learned from imitating others?
2. My wife gave my son a bag of chocolates the other day and he started eating the whole bag even though it should have been shared with everyone in the family. So my wife took the chocolates away from him – then, of course, my son started crying. It hurt so bad as a parent to see him cry so I gave the chocolates back to him. Who was right, my wife or me?
3. What is the best music to let my 2-year-old son listen to? I heard classical music was good for neonatals, but how about young children? The only problem is, my son won’t put up with classical music. He’ll only listen to reggaeton because that’s the type of music that his father loves.
4. What do you think about those Baby Einstein videos? I heard that they really help to make your child smarter.
5. My little sister always wants to rush to eat during mealtimes even though we try to explain to her that the potato is still steaming hot, for example. My mom always tells us to rush and cool down the potatoes so she can eat, but I say that we should let her learn for herself (i.e. let her touch the hot potato) or just keep the potato away even though she continues to cry. Who’s right?
6. My baby sister always enters my room and starts rummaging through and destroying all my make-up. How do I teach her what things she shouldn’t do? How do I break her bad habits?

Me: How should I know?! I’m just a kid! Sheesh!