Spare the rod, spoil the child. Kids need to know about rewards AND consequences.

So many 20yo s and 30yo s parents are "raising" friends and not children.

4 years before they go to school They go to school at 4? It was 6 when back in the stone age when I started school. Put on hold a 35 year career. Which is more important? Kid or career? Neither answer is wrong. I have seen couples have a child almost like a trophy or living proof of what I can make. It is no sin, not to have a child. If your career is important then go for it. No problem. Right now, kids that first got the exposure to daycare are approaching the 50year mark. How did they turn out? I would think that from birth to whenever they start school is a very valuable time to be with mom or dad and taught what mom and dad believe rather than the daycare lady or guy.

It has to be Ted Cruz's fault, lol.

When it comes to government assistance or low-income daycares, you’re likely on the right track, but there’s more to consider.

My oldest was in day-care because we needed both incomes to survive. I was in college. I don't know if I would put a child in a 20 thousand a year daycare even if I could afford it. I didn't know that kind of daycare existed.

Of course, some kids should have been in daycare than with a parent that is not all there. Known some of them also.

blaming daycare is like blaming public schools for your kids failing grades.

at some point, you are expected to be a parent. too many today suck as parents.

100% spot on

If you blame the daycare for your child’s failures, then you most likely picked the wrong daycare. The ones we used were excellent and did much more than baby sitting.

Also, there is a lot of truth to the parents wanting to be friends with their kids and their kids friends. It is not a who is the coolest parent contest.

I’ve always told Riley I’m not your friend I’m your daddy and parent first , when you can buy me a beer then we can become friends. My ex and I don’t agree on much but we have always agreed on holding Riley accountable and holding her to high expectations. We never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to pursue but if she chose something we asked her best. Some say we were over demanding but we were fair and honest. Kids want and need discipline . Her Rodeo coaches at college told this past weekend they wished they had a team of Riley’s when it comes to her work ethic and manners. Now that Riley’s off to college , even though she can still be that turd, she even admits now that mom and dad were right. Parenting is tough and we’re still going through the process but she knows the ground rules and the standards set. It’s not winning rodeos or making short rounds. It’s about being responsible , being respectful and giving your perfect effort. Time will tell but I believe she’s on the right path

Yeah they go to pre-k at 4, kindergarten at 5. They're well into first grade by 6.

I'm not saying the kid is more important overall than a career. Nobody, I don't think, would argue that. The question is whether the least important 4 years of parenting a kid are as important as some of the most important 4 years of your career. Personally, I don't think much of what you do at that age 0, 1, 2, and 3 makes a ton of difference in the person they turn out to be by the time they're 18. They're spend most of that time in the super early years asking questions and being curious and the main goals in parenting should be providing a loving and happy environment with good boundaries. The right daycare can handle that no problem. Now sticking them in after school daycare until you get off work at 6pm for the next 10 years after that is not ideal IMHO.

All that said, my point was just that most of the true growth in who they are as people happens in the years after they've gone to school and I don't think daycare up til age 4 makes much of a difference either way by the time they're in junior high and high school, much less 18+.

The other thing that makes an enormous difference that nobody seems to be talking about is managing who your kids hang out with. I see so many parents saying "well I wish my kid didn't hang out with little Johnny". If you as a parent know that one of your kids friends is a bad influence it is 100% your responsibility to have a talk with your kid about how you become like the people you spend time with, and spending time with people who make you better is an essential part of learning how to be the best you can be. Our daughter had a pair of best friends who were a terrible influence on her several years ago and I had the talk and she stopped hanging out with them and the difference in her attitude was shocking and immediate. I've come to think this is almost more important than anything else I do as a parent other than show them love and setting good expectations.

Texas Duck Hunter you are 100% spot on. Daycare says it in the name DAY-Care not dayschool. Although some can do a good job of this if you are in the right place at the right time. Public education or any school for that matter are to enrich the brain not teach manners, actions, behavior and so on. These should be taught at home then our schools could do what they are meant to do and the ever sought after scores would shoot up. Sad but are teachers are spending way to much time on these basic life skills.
I have a daughter that is a 4th year teacher and believe me according to her stories you don't want some of these teachers teaching your kids the basics of life. Some of these teachers kids are not good at the basics of life. No one can do that as good as a parent.
9 years on the school board is enough to know that many good teachers are leaving the field due to having hands tied and not being allowed to correct children when needed. We are in trouble in are schools mostly due to a politically correct system that ties hands.

My daughter will teach in China next year where supposedly teachers are held in very high regard and respected. I look forward to hearing how she feels the difference in respect changes the children's learning process.

Compared to how my wife and I were raised we are gentle. I have my doubts about it.....

Nothing soft here…I remain firm and hard.

The best compliment as a parent you can have: No thanks are needed; actions speak louder than words.

Watch your child grow up and become an independent, self-supporting person that is responsible for their own actions.

The biggest compliment is that they are raising their children as they were raised. Teaching manners, respect and discipline, etc. to all.

We were always told we were too strict, now I see what they were talking about watching it play out on our grandkids. No, I do not believe we were too strict, just different watching from the sideline's vs being the enforcer.

I would agree with that