Parenting Advice from “The Office’s” Michael Scott

My husband and I started watching “The Office” in 2008. The show was already in its fourth season, but we caught up quickly when we bought all the previous seasons on DVD (before the awesomeness of streaming). We fell in love with all the characters — Jim, Pam, Michael, and Dwight, especially. I do not think I have ever laughed as hard as when Dwight gave Michael “the chills.”

We continued to watch and rewatch the show until it ended in season nine. Recently, we picked up watching the whole series again. I realized then that most of Michael Scott’s advice or one liners also lend themselves to great parenting advice! Here are my favorite quotes.

“Monkey see, monkey do, monkey pee all over you.”

We have all heard the phrase “monkey see, monkey do.” As a parent, you expect this to be part of your life. My daughter copies everything I do, from cleaning the house to pretending to nurse her baby dolls. But, as a new parent, you are not expecting to be peed on. Whether it’s a baby boy’s sprinkler or a potty training toddler, you will be peed on.

“And I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.”

As parents, we tend to think we have the answers or “know what to do.” But often, we try what we think will work to stop a tantrum, get a kid to sleep though the night, or eat anything other than chicken fingers and pizza, and it does not work. Getting so much advice from grandparents, friends, co-workers, and pediatricians can leave us feeling like we really have no idea what to do. Trust your mommy instinct. You know what to do. You KNOW what to do.

“Why are you the way that you are?”

I look at my children and think of this quote all the time. Like when my son’s kindergarten teacher called to tell me my son had stuck a bean — from a bean bag — up his nose. Or when my daughter dumped a box full of crackers on the living room floor to make a snow angel in them. You just have to accept that your kids will do the weirdest things — with no explanation at all.

The last Michael Scott quote for parenting needs no explanation.

“Sometimes you have to take a break from being the kind of boss who is always trying to teach people things. Sometimes you have to just be the boss of dancing”

There has been many a bedtime dance party in my home, and I have no problem being the “boss of dancing.”