This Full House Archive

Tag: parents on facebook

  • My kid friended ME on Facebook, now what?!?!

    Raising 3 teens, and a kid who's turning 21 in a couple of months (no she isn't, I'm still in denial!), our parenting philosophy has changed quite a bit over the years, because: what worked with 1 kid isn't necessarily gonna fly with another, all 4 of ours have their own way of ignoring us, dammit.

    There is one rule, however, that has remained tried and true: we made our kids "friend" us on Facebook.

    Why? Because, their world was growing bigger, while our collective parenting street cred has decreased exponentially, it's the internet.

    Also, we made our oldest kids wait until they turned 13, because we're really mean and can totally suck wet poodle, like that.

    Long story, short: our youngest turned 13 last June, but — unlike her middle sister, who joined Facebook on practically the hour she turned 13 — this one thought it better to wait, because…in her words…it's like giving mean girls a microphone.

    Word! And I was okay wit-it, because MEAN GIRLS SUCK WET DONKEY BALLS!

    Even longer story, short (gosh, but vague-blogging is hard!): My two oldest daughters both have part-time jobs (my middle girl has 2, see previous parenthesis) with varying shifts, and I tag-team carpooling duties with my oldest, who often times is running late and forgets her cell phone at home, which means someone is texting me to either "Don't forget to pick me up at whatever o'clock!" and "Where are you?" or "HURRY UP!" right now, probably.

    "Ummmm, okay, and who is this?!?"

    So, getting to the point of this story (because I really do have one, promise!): My youngest daughter considers herself lucky, whenever I remember her name, half the time.

    "Did you get a friend request from someone, today?"

    I walked through the front door and had just thrown my purse on the faux fireplace.

    "I don't know, who?"

    [BIG GRIN]

    Ohhhhhh, right. It's been like, two months. DUH!

    "But don't worry, I made it private."

    As private as putting it ALL out on Facebook can get, right?!?

    "Aaaaand, Papa is on Facebook."

    Yep, my Dad is also my very own personal social media police and he's pretty quick to call the rest of our family members out on stuff he reads on the internet…until his youngest grand daughter figures out Tumblr…anyways…

    So, yesterday I'm checking Hope's Facebook, because Papa's gotta sleep sometime and….OHHHH…EMMMM…GEEEE!!!

    "Bwahahahahahahahaha…[inhales]…SNORT!!!…Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!"

    My 13 year-old's first post on Facebook:

    Special K hands
    I feel like edward scissor hands with a box. Tip: don't leave empty boxes in our house…you will have to wear it for a couple mins

    This is what Hope did NOT share: we are CONSTANTLY finding empty boxes left in the pantry, my husband made her siblings wear empty boxes too, so they couldn't text or use the internet for a good 10 minutes, and how she considered herself lucky, because he made our 15yo son wear a family-sized Oreo box…on his head…YO!

    Moral of the Story: If it's on Facebook, it's totally blog-able, no more vague-blogging!

    In case you're wondering, my son did NOT post it on his Facebook, and he reads my blog so…sorry dude and you're welcome.

    Still, I think this whole kids on Facebook thing is going to work out just fine…shhhhhhhh…don't tell my kids that, not until NaBloPoMo is over, m'kay?!?

    ©2003 -2014 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook, a way for you to subscribe to receive This Full House blog post by Email and everything!   

    I'm attempting to NaBloPoMo it this month, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far. And I may have missed a day, or twenty. Oh and just so you know, I'm unplugging on weekends and going blog free, because family time is also very…SQUIRREL!!!

  • Pushing Buttons, On The Facebook

    It's official, my parents are now on the internet. Or, at least, the 20 minutes of what I was able to show them Sunday night, because it took my husband Garth (not his real name) 2+ hours to actually get them online, which (to folks older than 20) is 2 hours, too long.

    Apu on Facebook

    A few weeks back, after introducing my father to Facebook, Apu immediately began sending messages to family in Hungary.

    It was not the introduction to the internet my parents were expecting — especially, after everyone and my brother insisted that my parents really need to be on the internet — and my father also suffers from "Let's see what happens when I push THIS button" (he's a criminal in elevators) which is pretty much never a good thing, especially on the internet.

    First I showed them how email works, although my mother was the director of the purchasing department for a large packaging corporation (a.k.a. my cosmetic hook-up) pre-retirement, so Anyu was already pretty familiar with it.

    "What's that button do?"

    As far as I know, short of sitting on one's hands, there is no cure for LSWHWIPTB and, combined with the distraction of shiny, pretty, blinkies on sidebars, it can be downright debilitating.

    "What else would you like me to show you?"

    My father is now on "the Facebook" and, as far as I know, he hasn't broken the internet, which really shows a LOT of restraint on Apu's part and, well, I'm pretty proud of him for that, too.

    "Did you show Papa how to leave a comment, or respond and *like* a wall post, on Facebook?"

    [blank stare]

    Aaaaaand, that is why I don't teach people how to use the internet…for a living.

    "Papa also mentioned something about starting a blog, like you, too."

    Although, I do suspect it may have been a defense mechanism on my part.

    "He said, to tell people when they're not doing stuff right."

    I'm not quite sure if the internet is ready for Apu.  Then again, it will certainly keep him occupied — especially, with winter and cabin fever just around the corner — and perhaps even keep my father from pushing my mother's buttons, or vise versa, right?!?

    I'm sitting on my hands, just in case.

     © 2003 – 2012 This Full House