Week ending January 11, 2009: The picture is of Casey and kids resplendent in their Eagles victory.
I heard a rumor that Blade says Casey and I are strict. This got me to thinking about when I was a kid and watched those movies in which the poor misunderstood kid was the hero and the overbearing ridiculously-rigid caricature of a parent seems determined to wring all the fun out of life in the obviously vain attempt to get the kid to conform to some outdated ideals. Have I become that parent? Of course not, but I do think about the balancing act between encouraging the kids to express themselves and setting limits so they will be disciplined enough to achieve the goals they set for themselves. Shortly after I got thinking about our level of “strictness”, Chloe said something that, at first, had me worried I’d ventured to far. It went something like this:
Chloe - “Mom, did you ever get tired of being who you are?”.
Me - “probably a long time ago, but I’m happy with my life now. Do you ever get tired of being who you are?”
Chloe - “Yeah.”
Me - “What would it be like if you were someone different?”
Chloe - “I wouldn’t have to do what you told me to when you told me to.”
I got to worrying that she was feeling under-empowered and was frustrated by the amount of rules we have, that my strictness was wearing on her. It turns out what she was really wishing for was a trip to Disney World and gummy fruit snacks for breakfast. She claims that Skye’s mother lets her eat gummy fruit snacks for breakfast. I don’t know whether this is true, but either way, a candy with added vitamin C is still candy and not a nutritionally complete food. As for Disney World, since she is 5 years old and has been to Disney World 3 times already, I find it hard to believe that there are too many other kids who get to go to Disney more than she does except for locals with season passes. Again, something I’m not feeling sorry for her about. We do have a lot of rules, so I thought as a matter of preserving historical fact, I’d record them. You probably will not find it interesting reading. 1) Children may not hit or hurt people or property 2) Children are not allowed to say “no” to their parents. If I say do something, it must be done. Asking for more time or presenting a reasonable case against said task is allowed in a reasonable voice one time, and then said argument is done. 3) Meals are eaten at the table, sitting down until excused. 4) Children put away their own toys, dress themselves, brush their own teeth, and carry their own plates to the kitchen. Other than that, Mommy does just about everything else. 5) Children eat 3 meals a day and do not get dessert unless they eat a reasonable amount of meal 6) Bedtime is at 8p at which time they may not get out of bed again except to pee until it is light out again 7) seat belts, helmets and other safety regulations are followed at all times
Chloe - “Mom, did you ever get tired of being who you are?”.
Me - “probably a long time ago, but I’m happy with my life now. Do you ever get tired of being who you are?”
Chloe - “Yeah.”
Me - “What would it be like if you were someone different?”
Chloe - “I wouldn’t have to do what you told me to when you told me to.”
I got to worrying that she was feeling under-empowered and was frustrated by the amount of rules we have, that my strictness was wearing on her. It turns out what she was really wishing for was a trip to Disney World and gummy fruit snacks for breakfast. She claims that Skye’s mother lets her eat gummy fruit snacks for breakfast. I don’t know whether this is true, but either way, a candy with added vitamin C is still candy and not a nutritionally complete food. As for Disney World, since she is 5 years old and has been to Disney World 3 times already, I find it hard to believe that there are too many other kids who get to go to Disney more than she does except for locals with season passes. Again, something I’m not feeling sorry for her about. We do have a lot of rules, so I thought as a matter of preserving historical fact, I’d record them. You probably will not find it interesting reading. 1) Children may not hit or hurt people or property 2) Children are not allowed to say “no” to their parents. If I say do something, it must be done. Asking for more time or presenting a reasonable case against said task is allowed in a reasonable voice one time, and then said argument is done. 3) Meals are eaten at the table, sitting down until excused. 4) Children put away their own toys, dress themselves, brush their own teeth, and carry their own plates to the kitchen. Other than that, Mommy does just about everything else. 5) Children eat 3 meals a day and do not get dessert unless they eat a reasonable amount of meal 6) Bedtime is at 8p at which time they may not get out of bed again except to pee until it is light out again 7) seat belts, helmets and other safety regulations are followed at all times
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