What would you do?

[BigMoneyJim]

I read it cover to cover.

For those of you who said they would avoid reading it, I'll just chuckle and say that that's easier said than done.

Am I glad I read it? Yes.

I figured it would be a difficult temptation to resist. Interesting. You say you're glad you read it. I suspect you really can't say much, but I'll try to be really general: did/will anything positive come from reading it?

 

[laurence]

I figured it would be a difficult temptation to resist. Interesting. You say you're glad you read it. I suspect you really can't say much, but I'll try to be really general: did/will anything positive come from reading it?

Something positive, like a breathalizer test positive, or a plus symbol on an ept test positive?

 

[Nords]

For those of you who said they would avoid reading it, I'll just chuckle and say that that's easier said than done. 

Am I glad I read it?  Yes.

That's true, but in the long-term perspective it's easier done. Two thoughts:
1. Eeeewwwww. I just don't want to have that detailed a level of knowledge about my kid's life. Especially if it involves other kids who are spending time in my house, eating my food, and engaging me in conversation.
2. For the rest of my life when I engaged with my kid, I'd have to make sure that I didn't screw up and lead her to realize that I'd read her diary. I'm not up to that task.

For the same reasons I don't open her mail and I don't read her e-mail when she leaves her account open. Life is hard enough already.

 

[wabmester]

Eeeewwwww.  I just don't want to have that detailed a level of knowledge about my kid's life.

My thoughts exactly -- and that applies to any blood relative, and maybe to anybody I know and like. I prefer maintaining an idealized view of people I like. Please don't shatter my pretty illusions with gross humanity.

 

[TromboneAl]

did/will anything positive come from reading it?

Yes.  It was good to see some things from her perspective.  She started down the wrong road on some things, but was turned back by the disapproval of her friends.  

Found out that she was able to pull the wool over our eyes.

She didn't do anything I didn't do at that age.

My advice to those of you who still or will have teenagers: Be more wary of parties.

 

[wabmester]

My advice to those of you who still or will have teenagers: Be more wary of parties.

OK, so you find these cool x-ray glasses in the back of a magazine that let you see your kid's behavior at all times. Do you intervene at the first sign of any "bad" behavior, or do you let the kid learn from experience?

 

[cube_rat]

OK, so you find these cool x-ray glasses in the back of a magazine that let you see your kid's behavior at all times. Do you intervene at the first sign of any "bad" behavior, or do you let the kid learn from experience?

It depends on the situation. Case and point, DD decided to go with the Goth look Monday night. It was purely unintentional. My dirty blonde daughter decided to she wanted darker hair. The color she picked was licorice black. When I came home yesterday she looked like Eliva with blue hair. She couldn't possibly go to school looking like a freak. I had to strip her hair and now I'm on my way to take her to my hair dresser to have it cut and put dye in it to even things out.

My point is, I could've let her deal with her hair problem and learn from experience, but then I would have to put up with her whining, intermitent crying, and demands that she wouldn't step foot out of the house ever again. I think she's learned her lesson in this instance. Wait until my hair dresser gets a hold of this morning. Knowing him, he's going to lecture her for the full two hours on the do's and don'ts of hair dying.

Wab - Didn't you say you have a female spawn running around? I feel for you, dude. I never had hair, boy, clothes, shoes, female *stuff* issues with my boys.

 

[wabmester]

Wab - Didn't you say you have a female spawn running around?  I feel for you, dude.  I never had hair, boy, clothes, shoes, female *stuff* issues with my boys.

Thankfully, my DW takes care of all the girly issues. I know exactly what I'll do if directly confronted with that kind of stuff. Close my eyes. Cover my ears. And yell "Neener! Neener! I can't hear you!"

 

[Brat]

Return the diary to the place you found it, in the condition you found it.  Say NOTHING!

Thanksgiving/Winter Break is comming up, she will be comming home.  Tell your daughter that she needs to clean her room and either box up or take with her things she wants to save because you intend to give it a deep clean.  Offer her a lockable trunk to place in the basement/attic. 

From here on out listen with a 'third ear'.  We all did foolish things when we were young, what you want to warn her against are disasters.  Better she break a leg when she is young and can recover, than break her spine at any age.

 

[LOL!]

I'd use it to start a web site and blog. Then I'd sell advertising on the web site. Then I'd sell it to a movie producer. After the movie came out, I'd take my daughter to go see it.

 

[TromboneAl]

Return the diary to the place you found it

That's no longer possible.  When we moved 7 years ago, we gave our daughter the master bedroom.  That worked well, because she spent time there studying, etc, while we mostly just slept in our bedroom. 

The day after she left for college we got to work on an extreme DIY makeover of her room, and moved in.

Here's the before picture:

 

[TromboneAl]

And here is after...

 

[yelnad]

What nice parents!

 

[justin]

Al,

You may want to photoshop your daughter's TROMBONE out of the "before" picture. I don't think she would appreciate you posting pictures of her INSTRUMENTS on the internet.

 

[haha]

Other than the bra, the before is a lot like my room. I would like it even more I had a bra on my floor too. A different one every morning!

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

Bra?  What bra?

 

[justin]

Confess. How neat is the after picture today?

 

[TromboneAl]

How neat is the after picture today?

It's just as neat, but there are a lot of bras on the floor.

 

[justin]

sweet. Just don't let your wife know, right

 

[cube_rat]

My daughter's room can top T-Al's

 

[Nords]

My daughter's room can top T-Al's

Sorry-- any bedroom with a visible floor won't even make it to the top four. Just as soon as I can disable the alarm on our kid's door, I'll post a shot. (Laurence, if I don't resume posting by next week then you can moderate my section of the board.)

But her stowage & cleanliness skills aren't limited to bedrooms. I used to think submariners were bathroom slobs, then we had a daughter...

 

[Lazarus]

If your child is living at home and/or you are supporting them - read it. If not don't.

 

[LOL!]

In another parallel bedroom ...

 

[TromboneAl]

Welcome to the twilight zone! Far out!

 

[SteveR]

Sure, just stuff everything under the bed!

So, how often do you use this guest room?