Raphaela has two days vacation for the end of Chanukah, and this morning we took a walk around the neighborhood, enjoying the first day of decent weather in a while. We stayed at the park for over an hour, and lunch/nap time was approaching; Raphaela refused to walk home, the sunshine, slide and climbing gym held too much allure.
I stood there, not wanting to start an un-necessary and unpleasant power struggle, and said, "Please, please Raphaela. Let's go home and have lunch."
At that moment, an elderly woman walked by the park with her husband, observing the scene. She said loudly to her husband, so that I could hear, "Our daughter-in-law speaks that way to her child as well. Stupid young people. You want to go home? Pick the kid up and go home."
4 comments:
Yes, that generation also spanked the living daylights out of us if we were naughty or rude. Next time turn round, smile sweetly and say gantly: I try not to use brute force and violence - it was always cruel even when it was popular. (Of course there won't be a next time - sods law ;) )
Oh, I don't know, I think there's a middle ground. I think a "Come! We go home now," and picking up usually worked nicely. Sometimes with a little tantrum first. (From her, not me.)
I meet a lot of 20something kids with truly nutzoid expectations of how the world will treat them, and maybe it's not surprising after a whole childhood of "empower the child through choice" upbringing. They're shocked and sometimes disbelieving when it turns out that choice must be paid for, and that no power very often equals no choice.
Agree with Amy on this one. I've seen many extreme "choicer" parents in various parks and it does drive me crazy sometimes. I'm into counting till 3 or 5 or singing a song and when the song ends, going, whether the child wants to or not.
OTOH, there are plenty of things I do with my kids that must drive others crazy. One parent's sanity is another parent's crazy. :)
I also agree w/ Amy and Abbi. I always try to say it first nicely to my 3 year old son. But at some point, I just pick him up and we go. After all, who's really (supposed to be) in charge? I do struggle with this too though, so I understand you!
Post a Comment