A salute

[pecunium]

So a kid wants to play "Call of Duty", which is a WW2 themed "first person shooter".

His dad said he could, after he read all four sets of the Geneva Conventions

And he has to abide by them, or the game goes away.

Go dad.

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

This is the quote that got me:
the more decisions you make that seem arbitrary, the less they’re going to listen

That's another facet of the main guideline Russ has used in raising his daughter, which we usually cite as "don't sweat the small stuff". Russ* has never hesitated to put his foot down over something important -- but his definition of "important" is a lot narrower than that of many parents. We both strongly believe that the result of this is that she does pay more attention when it's clear that he thinks it's important. Control-freak parents erode their credibility with their kids, and then wonder why the kids don't immediately hop to when they start ranting.

* I don't get overly involved with disciplinary issues. I'm not her mother, and I don't try to be; I have the authority when I need it and Russ will back me up, but I've always been diffident about flexing that muscle.

[redrose3125.livejournal.com]

Yep. My mother yelled at us all the time. We learned to tune her out. My father can still put the fear of God in me with a quiet voice, though he hasn't for years. When he does, it's important.