Last night I took my one year old and three year old to get ice cream at 9:45 pm. They were in pajamas and slippers. As I ran them inside out of the cold without coats on and Charlee lost a slipper we both laughed out loud. The people sitting enjoying their ice cream were probably thinking “why are those babies out so late?” or “why don’t they have coats on?” or “should they be eating ice cream this late?”. I don’t blame them, we were breaking all the rules. Out WAY past bedtime, sugar before bed and no real shoes in public! I mean we were seriously partaking in the cardinal sins. This morning I woke up not regretting it, thankful that we did it and had so much fun. Because sometimes it’s right to break the rules. Here are some reasons I let my kids break rules.
- There is no long term damage done.
- Because one day they won’t want to go with Mom and Dad to get ice cream and childhood is too short for me to miss any opportunities.
- One day they will be too old (and too cool) to go out in pajamas and slippers and still dance in the window with an ice cream cone and no one should miss out on that experience.
- They have no responsibilities but to be kids and sooner than later they will have bills to pay, people to keep happy, jobs to attend and responsibilities and life stressors. Right now they just have fun, and I’m going to make sure of that.
- They didn’t hurt anyone else breaking those rules last night.
Not all rules are are meant to be broken. And rules that are okay to be broken shouldn’t be broken on a regular basis. Bad behavior shouldn’t become a habit. But even the healthiest of people deserve a cookie every once in a while.
Some of you may have heard of the bill that recently made it to the Arkansas house floor that would ban tanning bed use to underage Arkansans. We know that tanning bed use is a carcinogen to skin cancer like cigarettes are a carcinogen to lung cancer. Every single day a patient tells me they didn’t know what all the sun damage would do to their skin. The wrinkles, brown spots and skin cancers. They all say “no one ever told us”. That’s why I support this bill. Because it’s a way to tell everyone, tanning is bad for your skin health. It’s also a way to protect our children who feel invincible by making a rule that’s hard for them to break. Will there be 17year olds that sneak into tanning salons anyway? Of course! Just like they buy cigarettes without getting carded sometimes but at least we have sent the message. Because cigarettes can’t be sold to anyone under 18 they get the message that tobacco isn’t good for your health. We need to be sending that same message about tanning bed use.
Rules are made to do good. Whether it’s a rule for your children to make the family life better or a rule that’s a law to help society. Rules aren’t meant to be harmful or hurt people. They are made with good intentions most of the time. Tanning bed use has long term harmful effects, it can hurt you and those around you. This bill is going to do good for us, for our children. That’s why this should be a rule you support too. Don’t be shy, tell your representative you do! Here is what Dr.Nelson had to say about the bill….
Dermatologist Explains Tanning Risks As Bill Advances
Have a great week! Nina
