Make Birthdays More Special With Memorable Milestones
Everyone acknowledges that particular birthdays are milestones, like the sixteenth and eighteenth birthdays. Some parents, however, try to make certain birthdays more memorable for their children by thinking up special milestones for specific ages.
Children start school at age six. Teens are legally able to drive at age 16, and young adults can vote when they are 18. Setting up other birthday milestones gives children something extra to anticipate on a birthday, and birthdays can represent a gradual loosening of the parental reins on children. By using milestones, children can slowly be given more freedom and responsibility as they mature.
Parenting experts agree that little girls are growing up too fast, becoming more sophisticated at younger ages. Many parents, in an effort to slow this process, establish birthday milestones for their daughters.
Birthday Gift of Ear Piercing
These milestones could be ear piercing, the wearing of make-up, attending slumber parties, going alone to the mall, or dating. Having a standardized age for these milestones keeps parents from being constantly nagged by their daughters for new freedoms. A parent can answer, “In our family, girls are not allowed to wear make-up until they are 13 years old.”
Boys will eagerly anticipate milestone birthdays as well. A boy can be permitted to have a pet, go to his first ball game, sleep over at a friend’s house, join a ball team, or go fishing with dad at particular ages. For decades, young men have looked forward to receiving a driver’s license as a step toward maturity and independence.
Some families have special traditions that they observe with particular birthdays. A child may be permitted to sit at the “adult table” at holiday dinners, go on a hunting trip, or receive a special piece of jewelry at a pre-determined age. Some parents take their children out to a special, fancy dinner for specific birthdays in order to celebrate their child’s growing up.
An important consideration for parents to remember is that all children may not be ready for certain responsibilities at the same ages. While one child may be ready to drive at age 16, a younger sibling may not exhibit the same maturity or responsibility. Birthday milestones should be individualized for each child, especially the ones that could cause the child harm. An irresponsible 13 year-old roaming the mall alone can cause much more trouble than an immature 13 year-old wearing make-up. Parents also must make sure that the child understands that these privileges can be revoked if the child proves that he is unready for the responsibility.
To formulate birthday milestones, parents need to think ahead of time of their family philosophies. Some parents prefer that their children wait until their late teens to date, while others do not mind their pre-teens dating. Also, parents should remember that a younger sibling will likely expect equitable treatment. If a parent buys a car for the oldest child’s seventeenth birthday, all other siblings will expect similar gifts. If a parent cannot afford a repeat performance, it would be unfair to start a tradition that cannot be continued with other children.
Birthday milestones can be a delightful way to celebrate a child’s maturity and growing responsibility. Creating unique milestones for each family will make each birthday a time of fun and togetherness.
