Shouting is the new spanking

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It's called the Puss n' Boots look...it's an instinctive "I *will* get what I want" technique that all children (of any species) are born with...and I think it's funny as all hell! My 3 cats give me the look every time they *think* they're getting wet food, and I always laugh and say, "It's not Sunday!"

Back when I used to babysit my sister's two girls (before my other niece and nephew were born) they were crazy, bouncing off the walls, showing off, and generally being annoying. So I bribed them with two handfuls of Starbursts each if they stayed in the basement (the whole thing was their playroom), and played quietly so I could watch a movie in peace. Well, I ended up eating almost the entire 1lb bag of Starburst during the movie. When my sister and her husband came home, I only had 2 Starbursts left...so I gave them each a single candy.

The Puss n' Boots look they gave me was so hilarious I had trouble holding back my laughter. My oldest niece eventually said, "But you told us we could have two handfuls!" So I kneeled down and told them, "Well, now you know how grownups feel when you lie to us." And with that, I went home. My sister later asked me what I did to them, because after I left, they ate dinner quietly, and when to bed without a fuss. I told her the story, and she said, "Oooooh, that's *good*! The little brats have a bad habit of fibbing."

A few months later, I ended up giving them each a full bag of Starbursts for Halloween...they were ecstatic...my sister wasn't too happy.

I know that was off topic, and all of you probably think I'm evil, but it was a very good technique for teaching children the ways of life. If you can't handle the Puss n' Boots look for spanking them, or even saying "no", you're going to be *those* people in the store with a screaming child that you can't control, while everyone else in the store is thinking, "Shut that little brat up, or *I'LL* shut it up for you!" Eventually, they'll grow up, and you'll be powerless when you get a jail call from your son, or your daughter gets knocked up.

 

Yeah, I didn't quite get that either...

I assure everyone that I only intended that sentence to be interpreted as NOG not knowing my son, and not the alternative interpretation.

Um... you view your son going to jail and your daughter getting pregnant as somehow equivalent? As in the worst thing a son can do is go to jail and the worst this worst thing a daughter can do is get knocked up? Please tell me that isn't what you were suggesting.

Finally, I would like to point out to everyone that doesn't have kids, who still feel it necessary to provide advice, (regardless of whether or not you were a babysitter for your siblings, neices, nephews, regardless of whether or not you have a background in childhood psychology, etc...) you don't quite get it. I don't mean that as an insult, I speak from experience. I am the oldest in my family, and have babysat my youngest brother, complete with changing poopy diapers, and I thought I was somewhat prepared for fatherhood. Until you experience being on the job 24/7 365 days a year, you just don't quite get it.

 

Yeah, I looked at that and immediately thought, "So the daughter going to jail is somehow ok?" I guess the son can't really get knocked up... I hope.

 

I didn't even mean it that way - I just thought a child going to prison would be MUCH worse than a daughter getting knocked up (or a son knocking a girl up).

 

Some parents don't quite get it either. There are times I find it laughable that the PhD student in child psychology, without ever having been around a child 24/7, can come up with the most absurd comments ... I find it tragic when parents will automatically discount the years and years of in depth research and formal education a person has in child development just because they are not a parent (or for that matter the teacher who probably knows your child better than you do).

You know the whole jail/knocked up thing just seemed normal to me -- but then again where I was raised very few girls went to jail and teenage pregnancy was considered the epitome of a daughter gone bad. Boys, on the other hand, went to jail much more often and a girl getting pregnant was her problem (how naive we were as kids). Good point Aldeth.

Off topic: What moronic advertising group came up with the 24/7/365 -- this defies logic and is a bastardization of old (and scientifically correct) phrase: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. When multiplied 24*7*52 gives you the correct number of hours per year. 24*7*365 gives you garbage. I prefer it when units cancel and the answer is clean.

 

That's a very important point and having had to deal with parents in the past I have to say it's something to keep in mind. Working with parents to solve their children's problems was part of my job but I never felt entitled to lecture them on parenting. I got along with parents because not only did I listen but I always asked them what they thought would work for their kids. Still, what works for a teacher does not necessarily work at home and some children may pose problems whereas their siblings never get into trouble (I've witnessed it with twins). In my experience most of the time the problem is not in knowing what is wrong but in making it work.

 

I meant that feeling bad was the correct response. I guess I could of worded that one better.

 

Bad post on my part...I just thought of the worst things some of my friends are going through with their kids. Probably should have put more thought in to equaling the severity...