SMK Parenting Tips: Part two

Welcome back to SMK Parenting Tips. We’ve heard from Dotty and others, but this post will be devoted entirely to tips from Amanda.

1. Be Supermom:
Den Mother to the scouts (the First Time),94-killer-kitch.jpg
help out with the Junior Trailblazers (Odds on a Dead Pigeon),
raise funds for the Bombers (The Mole), a member of the PTA and spy-in-training.
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2. Make them clean up their mess
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(Volcano – Vigilante Mothers)

3. Mothers bake a lot of cakes and biscuits S2E15_baking_with_the_Colonel
for bake sales (The Mole), Mother of the Year contests (A Little Sex, a Little Scandal), breakfast for secret baddies (Lost and Found) and just because (A Relative Situation).

4. Compliment your children when you think they’ve done well.
Amanda (about Lee to the Colonel): You know, I think he would very much like to hear you say that.(A Relative Situation) .
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Amanda to Jamie: Those g’s are really good. Jamie: They’re supposed to be p’s (A Lovely Little Affair)

5. When your kids have a sleepover, be there but pretend you’re not (Lost and Found)
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6. The worst time to move house is the middle of the school year (Double Agent)
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7. Wear whatever your children give you (even a Hot Mama t-shirt – Brunette’s Are In)
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8. Tell your kids that everyone loses a game sometimes (after their lost Little League game – Service Above and Beyond )
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9. Bring Royalty to see the neighbourhood children’s play (Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth)
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10. Support your child through his first love (Linda Montez):
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Amanda: …and don’t eavesdrop on your brother.(A Lovely Little Affair)

11. Being a mother is about thinking on your feet
The Colonel: You know, they ought to have a manual that gives you all the rules, instead of you making them up as you go along. Amanda: Awh that would be much too easy and not nearly as much fun! (A Relative Situation)
Amanda: Ah well, you know there are no rules for mothers, Mrs Woodrow. We just sort of make them up as we go along; we have to think on our feet (A Little Sex, A Little Scandal)

12. When telling your son not to hit his brother, be specific about what implements he shouldn’t use.
“Phillip, do not hit your brother in the head with trash” [sharp objects may be okay]
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13. When telling your son not to call his brother names, be specific about what names he shouldn’t be called…
“Phillip, do not call your brother Bozo.” [‘Dirt bag’ or ‘Worm Breath’ may be okay ]
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14. When you make the boys a promise – make sure you keep it! [e.g. don’t miss out on taking them to goofy golf because you ate Lee’s “chicken on white extra mayo”]

15. Do not enter a time warp when your son is playing Rip Van Winkle the next night in a play! (Reach for the Sky)
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16. Help them if with their projects, even if it means being mistakenly considered a double agent, helping out Czechoslavakia or building transmitters (Spiderweb)
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17. Allow them to explore their creativity to recreate history (including the Battle of Khartoum) (A Little Sex, a Little Scandal)
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and build messy school projects (eg the exploding volcano (Vigilante Mothers).
ALSALS.avi_000994160_thumb.jpg 2.23-VIGILANTE-MOTHERS.avi_000982716.jpg
So there we have it: SMK’s guide to Parenting. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by SMK are not endorsed by Learjet!! So what do you think? Do you agree with Amanda’s style of parenting? If you have kids, do they build volcanoes? Now is the time to critique 80s parenting….

35 thoughts on “SMK Parenting Tips: Part two”

  1. Whooo hooo!!! I’m takin a break from my intense deadlines… carrying out a bit of self-care.. and indulging in a bit of smk goodness – what a treat! I get two posts to enjoy which are new to me! 

    Thanks so much for sharing this with us all Learjet!
    Parenting tips? From smk? Oh this ought to be good! Haaaaa..
    I hope you don’t mind.. my little brain likes to approach responding to lists logically! Here’s my little list of thoughts on Learjet’s parenting tips..

    1) Supermom? Oh lol love the USA spelling Learjet 😉 can’t fight a tidal wave huh!
    Wow.. early Amanda was a very busy bee! Awesome to see all her activities combined.. no literally.. awesome! I mean how could she do it?! Haaaaa.. Was she coaching the boys in baseball too? I can’t remember.. but was she coaching or just demonstrating the hook slide? [good suggestions too from Valerie when Learjet wisely crowdsourced a couple of these answers at Neds! ]
    2) Love this!
    3) Lol.. Mothers make lots of carbohydrates huh.. ugh! Again, awesome to see all Amanda’s work laid out like this.. phew! I’m exhausted!
    4) Haaa Love those g’s! [maybe Jamie is dyslexic?]
    5) Awh this one is too cute! And so true!  I wonder if this is how Lee will need to sometimes managing up and coming fully fledged agent Amanda.. he can be there.. but.. sometimes it might be good if he pretends he isn’t 😉
    6) Haaaa what a great catch Jestress [who suggested this one at Neds]… and well put Learjet! I wholeheartedly agree.. have faced this challenge myself this year and decided to not try and move house (again) while in middle of semester..
    7) Oh the hot mama t-shirt was soooo worth it, just to see Lee’s face 😉
    8) I loved Dotty’s tip: get more girls on your team!!!!! 
    9) Haaaa cleverly done Learjet!
    10) Wuv…. Twu Wuv…. Linda Montez?!
    11) So being a mum is great training for being a spy! Lots of transferrable skills and knowledge 😉
    12) Hey! I wrote this ages ago.. haaaa forgot about this.. so I get to enjoy it all over again!
    13) Oh rofl. This one looks familiar too.. I’m such a bozo 😉
    Learjet the screen cap you chose for this one is flippin hilarious!!!! Gee I wonder why we don’t tend to warm towards Phillip! 😉 Is that the bit where Jamie says the peanut butter sandwich had dried out? [now that’s a peanut butter conversation I can get behind haaaa]
    14) Haaaaa
    15) Love this! Lets do the time warp again!!!! Just not around the time of Jamie’s play!
    16) LOL. Let them do their own homework! And you don’t leave yourself open to accusation.. phew!
    17) Exploring creativity. Genius!
    18) Oh yeah!!! Wasn’t there a little village the boys were wanting to wipe out when the volcano erupted?

    Thanks for such a fun romp Learjet. Yes romp! And yes lots of fun! 
    If you ever see a shout out for crowdsourcing ideas go for it – you never know where you’ll see your contribution 
    Brilliantly done Learjet as always.. I’m looking forward to getting to part 2 and seeing what other goodies you’ve uncovered!
    Do you think there will be a part 3?

    Oh and.. no poll? I love Learjet polls!!! We want learjet polls! We want learjet polls!! 😉

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    1. Supermom? Oh lol love the USA spelling Learjet

      What’s the USA spelling? Supermom? How do you spell it?

      I think Dotty suggests a village at the bottom of the volcano – to unknowing match what the boys said.

      I second – We want learjet polls!

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      1. Hiya BJo!
        Americans (mostly) spell ‘Mom’
        English (mostly) spell ‘Mum’

        Australians use the English spelling for Mum.
        Though there are some words we spell with American and not English spelling.. Australians learn both versions and debate ensues 😉

        I don’t see either as right or wrong.. it’s just a regional variation.. Given Learjet’s background (which learjet may or may not reveal on here ) I wondered if she had intentionally used the American spelling of Mom – because smk is an American show and there are lots of American fans..
        Mom or Mum.. it’s all good 🙂
        Here’s a little article I found with a summary..
        bye!
        .. back to work for me. ugh..

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        1. Where I come from originally (which isn’t AU/NZ/US or UK!), both “mum” and “mom” are used. “Mom” was more common though, and we used it in our family. And my kids still use “mommy”, although all their (Australian) contemporaries would use the “u” version.

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  2. I was nearing the end of college when SMK came out and then began teaching. Amanda’s situation as a single parent was starting to become a trend. Considering her situation and the fact that she was as present as she could be for her children as they were in their early years of growth, I think she did an awesome job. Her involvement in their many and varied activities most likely helped prevent them from having feelings of abandonment or low self-esteem. Too many times I’ve had students struggle with their parents’ divorce, what their role may have been in it, and whether or not those parents truly care about them or their own issues. I’m sure Amanda made mistakes or even had self doubts, but I think she did quite well considering all she had to deal with.

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    1. Valeries, you make a great point. It’s really easy for us to judge from our perpective 30 years ago, where women are more supported in the workplace and childcare is much more freely available, affordable and socially acceptable. Amanda really is a very committed mother, and it’s so easy to find fault in how she did it when she actually did her best in difficult circumstances.

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  3. Another great post, Learjet! Loved the first parenting tips post, too! I agree with Amanda on making kids clean up their messes, but I will not wear whatever my children give me. At least not clothes. I have worn the macaroni necklace my son gave me in public before.

    I do believe in keeping promises I make to my kids, but I refuse to help them with their projects unless it is absolutely necessary (e.g. it never is). I will drive them to the store and pay for their supplies, but that’s about it. I already graduated school, they can do their own work!

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    1. You’re right – we couldn’t be partners based on similarity alone. I’m totally with you on the project assistance. Likewise “Easter Bonnets”, dressing as book characters for the Book Week Parade and dressing up as a pioneer for history excursions. I’m amazed at what they can do with some coloured paper, cardboard, texters and a stapler…

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  4. Teach your kids about healthy eating. Sugar sandwiches are not okay (The First Time) but Marvelous Marvin’s, Quickie Chickies (or whatever that was), pizza and other fast food is just fine, thank-you very much!

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          2. You’re braver than I am, Learjet. I considered adding a comment about peanut butter in the last post’s discussion about breakfast food, but I thought iwsod might penguin-slap me. 😉

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            1. hiya cheeky 2Goldens!
              I’m thinking an indepth discussion of peanut butter is relevant to a blog post with parenting tips related to junk/processed food.. and isn’t going to be interpreted as a tangent when someone reads these comments three years down the line.. I’ll give learjet the final call as it’s her blog post – but for me I’m not seeing anything worth a (KC) penguin slap.. [hiya KC!!]

              Sorry I’m not around much at the mo.. RL is demanding my attention.. but.. the walk continues!
              And thank goodness for this little smk oasis of silly swoony goodness filled with a wonderful community of smk fans who are generous and funny – smk is a great escape 🙂
              Bye!

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  5. I wonder how many mothers could actually pull off number 9? Then again, maybe it depends on your definition of royalty… 😀

    I think my favourite, though, is number 12. It really is not okay to hit your brother in the head with trash. Just make sure to take after your mother and be really creative in your use of weapons. 😀 It always works against the bad guys, anyway.

    Nice work, Learjet! Thanks for adding again to the JWWM knowledge base. 🙂

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  6. Loving these posts Learjet- nothing much to add but that they are very enjoyable. Wonder how the boys turned out? ( in my family no one could have got away with with the night time chats outside the back door- my family were (and are ) a nosey lot.

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    1. I’ve tried to picture the boys’ future, too. In some ways Phillip seems almost like a young Lee — he’s brash and impatient, goes to great lengths while flirting with Linda Montez (like buying all of her Blue Jay candy in One Bear Dances), and he’s the one who snooped in the mysterious package in The First Time, even managing to rewrap it so no one knew he did it except for his brother who saw him. What do you think, a spy in the making? Maybe with the right role model? 😉

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      1. I see Jamie as a family man, maybe an engineer or an architect, quiet and decent. The type of man you can rely on. Philip – a bit of a ladies’ man in his 20s, outgoing and social. Maybe in sales? Or a physical education teacher.

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        1. Yes, I can see Philip in sales. (I am not a huge Philip fan – I don’t think Lee would have been quite such a bully as a youngster.) And I agree with you, I think Jamie would have been a decent family man and an engineer would seem to suit him as well.

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          1. Hi Michele just found this in the wordpress spam folder.. my goodness it’s so strange they keep doing this to you!!! I see you managed to get your comment published a little later though.. so that’s good..
            Sorry for the delay in my picking it up..
            But great to see you stop by!

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        2. Yes i can see Jamie as an engineer and decent family man. Philip, well, Im not a big fan of his but i could see him in sales.

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    2. Glad you’ve enjoyed them, Michele. And thanks again to those at Neds who contributed some of the tips 🙂

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  7. Good ones! But teach your children not to leave the milk out on the counter (Utopia Now) or ruin notes left for one’s quick-to-panic mother (also UN).

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  8. I’m one of the few kids born in the 80’s who didn’t make a baking soda volcano for a science fair. My school said that they were sick of seeing them and banned them from all science fairs! XD Then again, the King kids were born in the 70s, so their school might not have gotten sick of them yet. I’m almost a decade behind them.

    I do love the King kids’ version of creative play. Why didn’t my school ever teach us about the Battle of Khartoum? My brother and I liked making forts like that. I wonder how Philip did the turban?

    Kudos to Amanda for wearing the “hot mama” shirt. I’m sure the boys had no idea of the connotations when they got it. I just hope that she only wore it as a night shirt or around the house.

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    1. While I’m thinking of it, I wonder who went with the boys to buy the “hot mama” shirt for Amanda. They’re too young to have gone to get it by themselves, even if they saved their allowance money to buy it. Did they buy it with their dad before he left or with Dotty? I’m sure it’s pure innocence on the part of the kids, but someone else in Amanda’s family probably has a wicked sense of humor.

      That’s right, Amanda, wear it for the kids! You don’t want them to think that you didn’t appreciate the gift, do you? 😉

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      1. I’m thinking it was Dotty. And she probably bought herself a “Hot Grandma” t-shirt to go with her “A bit Dotty” jumper. (My work desk is covered in interesting and unusual Mother’s Day and birthday artwork, penholders and decorative items…The Minijets check that their gifts are on display. I now take photos on my phone to prove it!)

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    2. Speaking as someone who taught Science for 16 years to 6th, 7th and 8th graders and had to grade anywhere from 60-80 projects a year during the Science Fair I definitely banned the volcano projects. I also didn’t allow a lot of repeat projects. I gave out a list of at least 200 project ideas that they could choose from. Of course they were allowed to come up with their own as well. Certain years I also disallowed the Solar System ones, as well as a few product testing ones. They just get so boring to grade and there was a lack of creativity.

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So what do you think??? :)

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