I'm listening to a little Guns 'n Roses as I write this post, so if I'm feeling a little feisty, you'll have to forgive.  Coming off of a preteen all-nighter birthday party last weekend, Welcome to the Jungle seemed the appropriate choice for this week's playlist.

Yes, I may have just pegged myself as 30-plus but it's also a metaphor for the ride that is Parenthood - one part rebellion finding oneself, one part ear-busting racket, and a whole lotta really unfortunate dance moves (but I digress).

It's also a metaphor for a parenting style otherwise known in our house as "The Law of the Jungle".

Example: Child rides down the staircase in an old slippery sleeping bag.  Parent reminds Child that this activity is dangerous and will result in injury.  Child ignores parent's repeated reminders.  Child eventually lands at the bottom of the stairs with a bloody nose.

or

Child chases Sister around the house trying to squeeze off a fart in front of her friends.  Parent reminds Child that a natural outcome of this scenario is retaliation, but Child ignores.  Child eventually gets hip-checked into the wall and ends up with a bloody nose (we have a lot of bloody noses in our house).

Our response to these scenarios is always the same: kisses, hugs, and "I Told You So". 

Some parents would remove the danger-causing element, but our theory is that the Law of the Jungle will eventually coincide with the Law of Natural Selection--get enough bloody noses and the behaviour will stop. 

Or morph.  The latest fun activity is to swing from the venetian blinds alternately yodeling like Tarzan and screeching like a chimpanzee.  We're still working on that one.

Hence, "Welcome to the Jungle". 

Parents: do you remove the dangers or do you let nature take its course? Equally importantly, which is your favourite Guns 'n Roses tune (or any classic hard rock - I don't discriminate)?

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm fully aware that Welcome to the Jungle isn't exactly rated PG.  But in my defense, the mandatory head banging that occurs when listening to this song is very effective in distracting from any inappropriate lyrics.