This is a perfect reminder for anyone who has ever felt embarrassed by something their kid wrote for school: Don’t stress the small stuff – we’re all doing our best!
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#1
When Katelyn Catanzariti saw a recent writing piece her daughter had done for homework - she didn't know whether to be mortified or to laugh it off.
#2 For those of you who can’t decipher the almost-five-year-old’s scrawl above, it reads:
I was using my penguin earphones at the pub and I was watching Rapunzel on the computer and Mama and Dad had a beer at the pub.
Perhaps it should be stated that this was meant to answer the question, "Give an example of how you use technology in your home."
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#3 Katelyn’s initial response upon reading the story can probably best be summed up by the emoticon progression she used on FB:
You can just imagine her horror: "Oh no! People will not only know I go to the pub, but that I let my kids indulge in screen time, too!"
Needless to say, she ummed and ahhed about whether or not she would let any other parents (or teachers) lay their beady, judgemental eyes on it.
"I did, for a split second, debate whether I should keep it for our fridge, but get Darcy to do a different one for school," Katelyn told Kidspot.
She then ultimately figured: "Why worry?"
Was she judged?
To Katelyn's relief, nobody cared at all At least not from what she could tell.
"If anything - people were thanking me for the tip!" Katelyn shared.
"One friend - also a mother - asked if they could join us the next time we go to the pub. My cousin from Canada wrote to lament the fact that taking kids to the pub at all is prohibited there. She said it would have made life a lot easier!"
#4 Parents need to have fun, too!
We think the lack of any outcry confirms something we all know to be true about parents: We need our time out, and we don't want to be judged for it!
Who cares if that means "Going to the pub" becomes kid-code for "Yay! We're going to grab our fun headphones and play on the iPad while mum and dad have a drink!"?
Katelyn couldn't agree more: "I think most modern parents want to be able to enjoy life with their children, not be stuck at home or in playgrounds with them, or only live their grown-up life without them."
"We would never get sloshed while our kids were sitting with us at the pub - and thankfully I don't think that was implied in (Darcy's) story!"
