Disclaimer: If you are the super baby proofing mom who keeps her children away from scissors until their teens, please take no offense at this post– none is intended.

We are doing a preschool co-op group this year.  Five moms take turns teaching preschool and for the other four weeks get "free" education for their little one.  I haven’t decided yet if I like it, but I think it’s going well.

Yesterday was my turn to teach.  

The first activity we did involved cutting out little animals along very straight lines.  Two of the children (mine included) cut perfectly without need of any of my help.  Rocked it.  The other three… umm… struggled… as in didn’t even know how to hold the scissors.  It was very frustrating for them.  It was frustrating for me as well (I’m untrained in scissor instruction and not being paid) trying to help each of these kids individually, while praying the other helpless scissor children did not cut themselves during this time of private instruction.  It quickly became clear that these kids never had any opportunity to use scissors at home.  As I glanced at my own rockstar scissor-ess sitting amongst my chaotically unclean home, I pictured these other kids in their super clean, well kept homes and I got a little irritated.  Felt a little judgmental. Thought, how dare these moms clean their houses and never let their child cut paper with little blunt scissors.

Until I called my mom.

Hoping for validation that my way was clearly better– I may not have a tidy house, but my children have experiences– I asked, "Mom, which way were you, I can’t remember, were you the free and easy mom or were you the mom who kept the scissors away until we were in jr. high?"

Her answer: "I was the one who kept the scissors away."

My reply, "Really? But I’m not that kind of mom."

Hers? "Your children cut their own hair."  (You know how everyone says that every little girl cuts her own hair at least once?  I never did.  Now I know why.)

So of course, I felt deflated.  Because at near 30 years old I am expert with the scissors and I pretty much turned out awesome, so clearly the clean scissor free house method of parenting works…ahem… well. So much for my parenting theories.

So to all the scissor free and tidy mom’s out there, I apologize for my judgment and criticism.  I salute you for your baby proofing skills.  It does not make me excited for scissors at preschool, but at least I now know your children stand a chance of turning out as great as me.  And I hope my parenting style yields as great of results in my own children.  I think I’d be okay if my girls turned out to be hairdressers.  They do have mad scissor skills after all.