What to do when your child thinks you are no longer cool

My soon to be 17 year old son hasn’t thought I was cool for years—his hormones and propensity to blame me for everything wrong in the world has brought my cool factor down for some time. But my 7 year old daughter is a little different. In her eyes, I am the coolest mama that has walked the face of the earth and she lets me know everyday how much she appreciates having such a hip mom. We often dance to the same music and she loves that I can be goofy and silly when time allows. My son used to be like this as well, until one day, he woke up and determined that I was no longer relevant. This has me thinking, what’s going to happen when my daughter thinks that I am no longer cool?

I am not one of those parents who wants to be friends with their children—we can be friendly towards one another of course, but my role is as a parent, not as a friend. But I would like my children to know that they could come to me for anything and I would try listen; although this is sometimes hard to do.

Why do I want my kids to think I’m cool? I guess it’s because I feel that at 35 years old, I am not an old fogey. I will never co-sign everything my kids do for the sake of being “cool”, but I do want them to look at me as someone who is approachable, in the know, and on top of what’s current. The day I begin to lose that is a day I am not looking forward to.

I know the day is coming that my daughter will begin to scoff at my clothes, or the way I wear my hair, or the music I listen to. And when this happens, I will have to not take it personally and just move on, much like I have done with my son. I have to look at is as it and continue to parent—I am sure my parents thought the same thing when I started thinking they weren’t cool as well.

For the record, I don’t wear mom jeans or polyester, and I listen to all types of music, including old tunes and what’s new on the radio. I am cool because I am a fabulous chick—its their loss, not mine.

What do you think about losing your cool points with your kids? Do you take it personally? And most importantly, do you even care? Leave me some comments below and let me know what you think!