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13 Things Parents of Mentally Strong Kids REFUSE to Do

Raising a mentally strong kid requires parents to avoid the common yet unhealthy parenting practices that rob kids of mental strength.

5 Ways You Are Ruining Your Child’s Life Without Even Realizing It

There are five parenting traps that many well-intentioned modern parents fall into without even knowing it.

Parents, It’s Your #1 Job to Get in Your Kids’ Way at All Times. Kids Do Not Deserve Privacy.

I am an assistant principal in a middle school (grades 6-8). When I have to search a student's cell phone, I often get sick to my stomach at what I find. It gets worse and worse every year.

“I’m Told, ‘You Should Get Up Before Your Kids.’ I’ve Tried It Your Way, But I’m a Night Owl”: Mom Says Night Owls Are ‘Just as Valuable’

“People who get up early are more successful.

“You should get up before your kids.”

“Don’t start the day too late. You’ll regret it.”

That all sounds reallyyyyyy great in theory,

but I’m a night owl.

My body is hardwired to ignore its physical exhaustion

and my brain functions best around 10 p.m.

That’s when my house gets clean. That’s when my lists get made. That’s when I have alllll my ‘bright’ ideas.

I’ve tried it your way. I really have.

I’ve set alarms for 5 a.m.

And on the rare occasion I didn’t snooze them 10 times, I still wasn’t productive.

I get that you use this time to prepare or run or do whatever you do to pep you up,

but when I find myself up before the sun,

all I want to do is cry and stare at the wall and go back to sleep.

I can prepare for the day just as well past midnight.

The prayer line to heaven is just as clear after dark.

Coffee tastes just as good when I’m sipping from a travel mug in the car.

What my kids lack in a cheerful morning mom, they gain in the afternoon-mama-who’s-hit-her-stride.

Night owls— you are my people. We can not be changed. We are just as productive. We are just as valuable. And I don’t know who needs to hear this, but

it’s totally acceptable to cook tacos or rearrange furniture at midnight.

**This post was written by Whitney Ballard of Trains and Tantrums and originally appeared on her Facebook page

13 Things Parents of Mentally Strong Kids REFUSE to Do

Raising a mentally strong kid requires parents to avoid the common yet unhealthy parenting practices that rob kids of mental strength.

5 Ways You Are Ruining Your Child’s Life Without Even Realizing It

There are five parenting traps that many well-intentioned modern parents fall into without even knowing it.

Parents, It’s Your #1 Job to Get in Your Kids’ Way at All Times. Kids Do Not Deserve Privacy.

I am an assistant principal in a middle school (grades 6-8). When I have to search a student's cell phone, I often get sick to my stomach at what I find. It gets worse and worse every year.