Once upon a time (1985) in a land far, far away (Atlanta, GA) there was a little girl named Carrie. Carrie decided to write a list of all the things she wanted to remember about how to treat her kids. She figured that she would need to remember these essentials when she became a Mom. Being a kid, and having a Mom herself, made her an authority in this area.

Carrie was kind enough to share this list with me and I've decided to pass it along to you. Since you're also a Mom I thought you would enjoy these nuggets of wisdom.

1) Do not tease them about things they don't want to be teased for.

2) Don't bug them.

3) Don't tell them to do something 20 times.

4) Do try to think up small, fun projects for them to do with or for you.

5) When your little girl is 8 and up, order magazines (like Stickers!, Young Miss, Teen) for her, and order catalogs too. Do try to be in, and if she likes dressing up wild, let her and help her.

6) Allowance Guide:

Age 5- .75 a week

Age 6- 1.00

Age 7- 2.10

Age 8 - 3.50

Age 10 - 10.00

Age 12- 13.90

Age 14- 15.00

Age 16- 50.00

Age 18- 85.00

Age 20- 150.00

7) Teach them every thing you know.

8) Act like a kid.

9) Go on shopping sprees with them & their friends.

10) Do teach them about your religion.

11) Join sticker clubs together, & have a sticker club of their own.

12) Use the word "dibs" & tell them what it means.

13) Be neat.

14) Be cool.

15) Be punk.

16) If they have a bunch of homework, do some.

17) Don't have "all work day" and "all play day", do both on every day!

Well there you have it Moms. A window into the mind of your child.

P.S. Ok I admit it. This list, dogeared and yellowed, was plucked straight out of my baby book where my Mom had saved it all these years. When I read it as an adult, I had a good laugh at myself.

For one, I was obviously a child of the 80's (sticker clubs were all the rage people!). Secondly, my allowance guide is interesting. According to this, my 8 year old is overpaid, but if he can just hold out until he's 20 (20! LOL!), the living will be easy.

Some of my rules were bizarre (dibs? what's the deal with that!?), childish (homework- hmm, maybe that's why I'm a homeschooling Mom? I still think parents should share that homework!) but some were downright sensible, like the ones about not teasing, having a sense of humor and not being a stuffy parent or a nag, and having a balanced life (#17). I still have these goals as a parent. It's also very important to me that I share my knowledge with my kids (#7, 10).

Some things have changed since I was little. Dressing up "wild" back then meant wearing hot pink leggings and glitter on your cheeks, or black combat boots with a lace skirt. I'm afraid it means something altogether different now. And the magazines for teenaged girls back then where mostly innocent. Nowadays they're all about how to grow up way too fast.

But some things never change. Fun projects and chores done together, shopping sprees (#4 and #9) and being sensitive to our kid's emotions (#1-3) are ways of staying connected in a world that is designed to bring families apart.