Thought or Rant of the day!!!

[Vega]

Keeping your own kids calm is really that much harder than keeping other people's kids calm?

The difference between your kids and other peoples' kids is that when you start getting annoyed by other peoples' kids, you can just hand them back to their parents and let them deal. When you start getting annoyed at your kids, you're the parent and you have to deal with it.

Also, kids respond better to strangers in authority than their own parents. My child will let the doctor tear a splinter out of their finger, but not me. They know what your boundaries are, but they don't know a stranger's boundaries, and that unknown typically gains their compliance.

AND they know you are their parents and you are less... hard to deal. They know that, at the end, the one who "orders" in that relationship are they, not parents, 'cause parents are weak and love their children an at some moment are going to say "aw... my little one... I love him/her, I can't be so bad..." and strange people don't have that problem. At least, is one of the things I've learnt at the kindergarden these days.

Well, I don't know if all this is understandable... I'm working with numbers and my mind it's a little off...

[Chris]

Children listening less to parents than to other adults is hardly universal. For example, I was a camp counselor. Based on what the kids said to each other, I gathered that their parents used harsh methods of discipline, e.g., beating them with belts. I couldn't beat them (nor did I want to). So these kids were taught to comply mostly out of fear, not out of reason or respect. Compared to their parents, most authorities seemed weak in their ability to punish them, so they were difficult to keep in line.

I might also mention that the case of complying with a doctor on medical matters makes sense, and adults do it too. Wouldn't you expect people to trust those who have specialized expertise in matters that concern their specialty?

[Snickie]

[...] trust those who have specialized expertise in matters that concern their specialty?

This last part made me chuckle...sorry. XD

Growing up, I got the "If I hear that you caused trouble with so-and-so, then you're going to get it twice as bad when you get home." That kept me in line. o_O

[Comy]

When I was growing up, my mom said "Don't throw a tantrum in the grocery store." And...er, we didn't. She'd told us that we had a list and were only going to get what was on the list. If we started fussing and crying about wanting something, we'd leave immediately, abandoning the cart in place. This happened maybe 2-3 times and we quit doing stuff like that. There were never any threats, pain was never a punishment (she "spanked" us, but it was meant to be an attention-getter; the force she used was the same as for polite applause), and anyone she left us with always raved about how well-behaved we were.

[Sunni Daez]

I remember a time when both my boys were throwing a fit, on the floor, kicking and screaming.. I proceeded to do the same, kicked and screamed like they were, they both got up, looked at me funny, went to their room and never did it again. Honestly, it felt good!

[SekoETC]

We had the same thing, always a list when going to the grocery store, and since neither me nor my brother could read, the list could say anything and we never questioned it. Sometimes there was candy on the list, although we never got much. Sometimes we were fighting who gets to press the button on the scale so we dropped the scale. Another time we tipped over the cart. No one got hurt, though.

[Snickie]

I remember a time when both my boys were throwing a fit, on the floor, kicking and screaming.. I proceeded to do the same, kicked and screamed like they were, they both got up, looked at me funny, went to their room and never did it again. Honestly, it felt good!

I read this to my mom just now. She thought it was great.
I hope I remember that whenever my kids decide to start throwing tantrums.

My mom says that when I tried to throw a tantrum, I would bang my head against the (tile) floor to make myself cry because I apparently couldn't do it on my own. My mom would laugh, saying, "Hurts, doesn't it?" I didn't throw many tantrums after that.

[Addicted]

I remember a time when both my boys were throwing a fit, on the floor, kicking and screaming.. I proceeded to do the same, kicked and screamed like they were, they both got up, looked at me funny, went to their room and never did it again. Honestly, it felt good!

I used to think kids who had tantrums had bad parents.... then I had kids. My middle child was a shocker and even though we never gave in or gave attention, they still happen in a way and she's fourteen. Never in public since age three, but still the screaming and thrashing happens sometimes when she doesn't get what she wants. Maybe I should have one too?

[Sunni Daez]

I remember a time when both my boys were throwing a fit, on the floor, kicking and screaming.. I proceeded to do the same, kicked and screamed like they were, they both got up, looked at me funny, went to their room and never did it again. Honestly, it felt good!

I used to think kids who had tantrums had bad parents.... then I had kids. My middle child was a shocker and even though we never gave in or gave attention, they still happen in a way and she's fourteen. Never in public since age three, but still the screaming and thrashing happens sometimes when she doesn't get what she wants. Maybe I should have one too?

It took all I had not to laugh at the shock on their faces when I got on the floor and started kicking and screaming. (they were 4 n 5 at the time) But like I said, they never threw that kind of tantrum again.

[Henkie]

Anyone ever woke up alone in a strange house you don't remember entering, with a bunch of brightly colored ribbons around your well.. private parts, fiinding a note saying something like:
"I have gone to work
don't break or steal anything
And please call me, I really like you!
Love <NAME>"

[Doug R.]

Nope, can't say that's ever happened to me, but it reminds me of a funny Scottish song. The punchline was "I don't know where you've been me lad, but I see you've won first prize!"

[Henkie]

Well a Scottsman glad in kilt left the abr one evening fair..

Under the scottsman's kilt. I know the song hehe that's why the ribbons got there in the frst place hahaha

[Snickie]

Being stuck on the sixth floor of a parking garage full of people with road rage and driving through the shooting range part of town to get away from said parking lot are very scary things.
On the other hand, the concert was amazing, music and special effects alike.

[Comy]

Instead of studying for my finals, I am very earnestly explaining hide and seek to an old friend that I randomly decided to get back in contact with. Probably as another way of avoiding studying. The problem is, I do my best studying the day before an exam, but in this case, it's two exams with a total of eight essays, plus a paper that requires a fair amount of thought of five references (and then a third exam the day after). Basically, I'm an idiot. Yay! And now husbandface expects me to interrupt tomorrow's frantic studying to make him lentil loaf and cookies. Bah.

[gejyspa]

Well, the good news for parents is that kids do eventually grow out of it (for the most part). And the second piece of good news is that, even when they are rebellious teenagers, they are STILL listening to you, (and more importnantly) watching you, and absorbing your messages. I got a gchat once from my oldest (currently a junior in college) saying something like "sometimes I regret that you raised me to be such a moral kid. It would be so much easier to ...."

So, back to the play -- had our first redthrough yesterday. If anyone is going to be in the Baltimore area in mid-February, and would be interested in seeing the show, let me know via pm and I'll send you more details (sorry, I can't get you comps).