I was at a local restaurant for lunch when I overheard a conversation between a father and his little boy – who seemed to be about 5 or so. The father was begging the little boy to eat and used the old “there are starving children in Africa” bit to try to convince him. I laughed it off and considered the number of times I had heard that same line growing up. But the more I got to thinking about it, the more I wondered if that little boy even understood what that meant. I’ve often talked about perspective on the blog and my thoughts led me to that idea again. So here’s what I’m wondering: Are we expecting too much from our children?
My thoughts took me back a week or so to a conversation I had with Jack in the car. Rain had canceled baseball practice for the second day in a row and he was in full on meltdown mode – tears and all. I remember telling him that it wasn’t a big deal and that he needed to stop being so upset about it. But the more I thought about this conversation, the more I realized how wrong I was to tell him that. If we as parents do our jobs, our kids not getting to go to baseball practice (or whatever it may be) should literally be the worst thing that has ever happened to them. Our job is to protect our children from the bad things in the world. They shouldn’t have an in-depth understanding of the atrocities that are occurring around the world. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think our kids should all have an age-appropriate understanding of the hardships in life, but should my 6-year-old understand famine in Africa? I say, no.
And while it’s easy to dismiss the tears as trivial when a favorite toy breaks, for our kids it really is one of the worst things that has happened to them. Or at least it should be. As I said, it’s our job to protect them and ensure they don’t experience pain and hardship. I think sometimes, we as parents expect a little too much from our children. What we see as “little things” they see as big things. So I think it’s important to keep that perspective in mind. Do we cater and pander to bad behavior? Absolutely not. But I think being able to understand what our kids are going through might make us better able to relate to them. I think being able to relate to our kids makes us better parents. But that’s just me.
Y’all, this No-Bake S’mores Cheesecake is ridiculous. It’s so easy and so delicious.That topping with the Cool Whip and marshmallow creme is amazing. I would eat that mess on a cracker if I could.
I just can’t wait for y’all to try it.
No-Bake S’mores Cheesecake
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients:
- 20 sheets of graham crackers, 4 crackers each sheet
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 2 (8-ounce) containers frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (3.56-ounce to 3.8-ounce) box dark chocolate instant pudding mix
- 1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme (or marshmallow fluff)
Instructions:
- Crush 15 of the crackers well and combine them in a bowl with the melted butter.
- Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the other layers.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, combine 1 container of the whipped topping and the cream cheese and blend until smooth.
- Add the pudding mix powder and mix well. Spread this layer over the crust evenly.
- To make the topping, combine the other container of whipped topping and the jar of marshmallow creme in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer and blend until smooth.
- Spread it over the top of the chocolate mixture.
- Crush the remaining 5 graham crackers by hand and sprinkle them over the top.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow the layers to set.
This recipe originally appeared on SouthernBite.com. For more great recipes, visit the website or check out ”The Southern Bite Cookbook.”
