The thing I want parents to understand is this: you are doing the best you can with the information you have. There's no room for judgement or criticism. You have made the best use of the information you have to raise really great kids and people.
My aha moment as a mother came when I realized that parenting wasnt about what happened when my kids were between the ages of 0 and 18 - it was about what happened for my kids between the ages of 18 and 80.
Raising kids is super expensive. But society depends on it, so the government gives parents a limited range of tax deductions.
However, there are SO MANY MORE deductions we parents should be able to claim. Here are a few for the IRS to consider.
A sense of humor takes years to develop. Babies burble and laugh at peekaboo, toddlers love pratfalls, and potty humor is the pinnacle of wit through elementary school. Understanding different types of humor – wordplay, puns,improv, sarcasm, jokes, pranks – seems to follow a kid's overall developmental trajectory.