Sometimes Your Kids Need To Throw You Under The Bus

My daughter loves to be super involved in extracurricular activities, and her schedule sometimes can be overwhelming. She had made the difficult decision to drop an activity her senior year. She knew it would not be easy to say no this year, but she was determined to handle it. We discussed how she would approach it, and I gave her the worst-case option of just blaming me. My kids know if they need an out, that is always an option. Just throw me under the bus.

Saying yes is much easier than saying no. Even for adults, saying no feels like it needs some explanation. Saying yes avoids needing to justify our response, or maybe we don't want to disappoint someone asking something of us, even if we'd like to say no. Sure! Of Course! No problem! We've all thought, "How did I get myself into this?!"

While I am trying to raise kids who are self-confident and willing to stand up for their beliefs and choices, it is not always easy. It can be challenging to say no. If their safety is at stake or they are overwhelmed, I want them to have an out. They can always blame their mom if they are pressured to do something. My son has gone so far as to ask me something he knows he doesn't want to do by text just to get a screenshot of me saying no to stop being harassed. Teen boys can be relentless with their brilliant ideas. Ugh.

So, how did it go for my daughter? She was determined to stand her ground. She tried to lay out all her reasons but was getting a lot of pushback, so I got this text, "I tried to throw you under the bus a lot!😂"