March 22, 2010

Three Cheers for the "Meanest Mom"
Barbara Rainey

Teenagers are fond of labeling people-both those they admire and thosethey don't. In their emotional declarations, their parents usually arethe recipients of only negative descriptors such as, "uncool, mean,unfair, so strict," and others I'm not hip enough to know. But when you are the recipient of the moniker, "meanest mom" orsomething similar, then you can know you are probably doing a great jobparenting. Jane Hambleton discovered that recently. After finding alcohol in her son's car she decided to sell the car andshare her 19-year-old son's misdeeds with everyone by placing an ad inthe local newspaper. Her ad and the story it created made its way to theAssociated Press. The ad read: OLDS 1999 Intrigue for sale. Totally uncool parents who obviously don'tlove teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks beforesnoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat ... Callmeanest mom on the planet. The 48-year-old mom said she fielded more than 70 calls from emergencyroom technicians, nurses, school counselors, and others who all wantedto congratulate her. "It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gottenfrom people saying, 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.'So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You are really strict,lady.'" The only critic was her son, who she said was "very, very unhappy" withthe ad and claimed the alcohol was left by a passenger. Jane said shebelieved her son but decided mercy wasn't the best policy in this case.She said she set the rules when she bought him the car: no alcohol andalways keep it locked. As soon as I read this I became a fan of Jane's. Parents of teens are sobeleaguered and weary that when we read of a mom who clearly had theupper hand, who was not manipulated by her son, who stuck to her rules,we are encouraged. Her choices give us courage to also be strong withour teens. So to all you moms of teens, "be strong and courageous" as God said toJoshua and to us. If Jane can do it so can you! From another mom who was called mean by her own children (who are nowadults benefiting from not getting away with breaking the rules), I saythree cheers for the "meanest mom on the planet." I think Jane shouldget "Mother of the Year"! This article originally appeared on MomLife Today, FamilyLife's new blogand community for moms in every stage of life. You can become aFacebook fan of MomLife Today by clicking here. Barbara Rainey has co-authored several best-selling books with herhusband, Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife. She has also authoredbooks of her own and is a regular contributor to MomLife Today,FamilyLife's blog for moms.