The first-ever "natural" issue of Parenting (April) gives us a peek into Jessica Alba's world as a Hollywood mom of two. She spills on how she learned to deal with the paparazzi, getting back her pre-baby body, and what led her to launch the Honest Company. But what intrigued me most was what she said about what kind of mom she is.
"I'm the disciplinarian," she says. "I think it's because I was kind of a naughty kid myself: I'd push my parents' buttons and test them to see how much I could get away with." Ah-hah! So being a bad girl led Jessica to become the "bad cop" to her husband Cash Warren's "good cop"!
Isn't that how it often works out in families? One of you is the disciplinarian, while the other is the pushover -- or at least more lax. We're actually the opposite of Jessica and Cash. My husband is more strict than I am. I'm the softy. He's the one who lays down the law more often and who practices the tough love.
I always thought it was because my husband is less mushy and tougher than I am. But come to think of it, my husband was a naughty kid, too -- who also pushed his parents' buttons! Maybe it's the wild ones who "know too much" about exactly how naughty kids can get who try to stay one step ahead of their kids' games.
Anyway, I think as long as the parents are mostly in sync with each other, the good cop/bad cop routine can work. You have to have at least one parent who keeps you in line. But it's nice to have one parent who can relax a little every once in a while, don't you think?
Who is the disciplinarian in your family?
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Comments 5
I am TOTALLY the "bad-cop" strict parent in the house, my husband is a TOTAL softy. Drives me nuts when I need back-up... And Yep, I was the "naughty" kid where he was seemingly perfect, or that is how my mother-in-law tells the story. Actually both her son's are/were perfect *barf* ;-)
We both are a bit strict with our kids... There are times I have to be mom and dad because my husband is at sea. He's a bit more lax when the deployments are over, so I have to take him aside and remind him of the rules when he returns, LOL!
I feel like I'm more the "bad cop", just because I'm the one who's home during the day and there are little details and quirks about how things work around here that Daddy just isn't as used to, since he's at work all day. So I do sometimes have to quietly insert myself into a discipline situation he's handling and remind him of something. But one thing we are really trying to do is never, ever argue about discipline in front of our kids. We do our best to keep it cut-and-dried, and if we disagree about something, we work it out later. Gotta keep that united front!