My parents are similar people, at the very least compatible. There are many ways in which they are alike, the share the same opinions on school and grades, and other general house rules. But, over the years, I’ve come to notice the ways in which they are not alike, the ways their personalities conflict and their decisions vary. Parents in general are similar in this way, kids quickly gain an understanding of the ways parents decisions differ and use that knowledge to their advantage.

My dad is the one I go to for money. In most cases, when I, or either of my siblings want something it’s much easier to get it out of my dad than it is trying to persuade my mom into it, because she rarely gives in to pleading. So in the situations involving money, clothes, video games, in my brother’s case, or anything else material, it’s common knowledge in my household to go straight to dad. I remember working out in my head the exact way I would ask my mom for money to go to the mall, or the movies, it was a lot more work than asking dad, and still is. Asking my dad for money is a simple task, it doesn’t involve a carefully thought out conversation or coming up with just the right amount to ask for, just enough for the ticket and a small buttered popcorn with a sprite, it’s rare for him to even ask what the money is for. His first and often only question is, “how much?” This is where it would become difficult if it were my mom, I would be asking for too much by going three dollars over the price of the movie ticket, my dad doesn’t know the price of a movie ticket to begin with, making it easier for me to get the extra money for the concession stand. Although my mom rarely budges even when nudged by constant pleas, and my dad gives out money like nothing, they do both have their limits. Granted, my mom’s limit may be ten dollars whereas my dad reaches thirty before he hesitates.

My parents both care about my sibling and I, but they show it in completely different ways. It’s easier to convince my mom to let us stay home from school when we’re sick, or skip out on sports practice for the night. My dad, all about “toughing it out”, wouldn’t let my brother miss hockey practice unless he had two broken legs preventing him from skating. I come home from school a lot to find my brother pleading with my mom, trying to get out of going to practice, he uses excuses like homework, being tired, and already having played a soccer game earlier in the day. He whines and complains to her until she suggests calling dad and asking, then he gives up and sulks out into the car when dad gets home from work ready to take him to practice, completely oblivious to my brothers’ earlier complaints. Nobody goes to dad in the morning, when their head hurts, his response is already playing in our heads, “you have to go to school” or “you don’t look sick.” Common responses like these are the reason we go to mom, she doesn’t give in immediately, but it only takes a few minutes to break her down. Her automatic answer is to take an aspirin, after some coaxing you can see on her face that she’s about to give in. It’s a “You should probably go, but I feel bad about making you” kind of look, and then you know you can go back to sleep. My dad wants us to go to sports practice and school because he wants us to succeed, sometimes he may take it too seriously, but in the same way that my mom feels bad about making us go to school when we don’t fell well, my dad tries to teach commitment, or perseverance by making us, in his words, “tough it out.”

All parents work together, moms and dads are similar to each other in almost everyway, but it’s their differences that are more noticeable. My parents are like the same person, but on a different level, they are completely different people. My dad spoils us, my mom wants us to work for everything. My dad thinks we should get over being sick, tired, or busy, my mom is overprotective and gives in to a small cold. My mom gets nervous when she watches So You Think You Can Dance, my dad is scared of nothing, or at least likes to pretend that’s the case.