THEY GONNA BE JUST LIKE YOU!
There is good news out there when it comes to parents making life meaningful for their children.
There’s more to traveling on the freeway and witnessing one of our disturbed motorists exhibit road rage with the kids on board the family’s chariot.
These temper-tantrum parents, both moms and dads, fail to understand that their youngsters’ eyes are watching their every move .
The kids, whether we know it or not, wanna be like us!
The mother with her two well-behaved daughters was a pleasure to observe. Mom’s handle on things was the complete opposite from the Dad I’d observed the week before in the same waiting room at Kaiser.
Dad and his blond curly-headed “little princess’ were a great example of how not to be.
Mom with the two daughters understood what a seat was for – the girls were to sit in it. And they did! One sat and read her Harry Potter book and she only had a few pages left from the volume that looked like it was close to 400 pages. The younger girl, around the age of six, was busy reading with a Kindle!
Kids reading? Hmm.
The example was there with the girls, as Mom had a gardening book and was making notes on the pages and studiously highlighting certain passages or instructions as she, like her daughters, quietly read while waiting to be called by the lab technician.
Like mother like daughter!
But the blond curly-locks girl, who I had observed the week before, spent her time in the waiting room rearranging all of the literature placed on stands and on tables. The Dad made a spectacle of himself continuously running to where the princess was to pick her up (she was about six years old) and bring her to sit on his lap.
But curly-locks was soon up and at it again.
From time to time Dad made a half-heated attempt to put the scattered literature back in order.
Both curly-locks and the young girl with the Kindle were waiting to be called into the lab to have blood drawn.
Which of the two would you guess approached this medical necessity with a sense of, “I can do this”?
Curly-head screamed and yelled as soon as Daddy picked her up to carry her to the blood-draw station. Her piercing screams were heard throughout the five minutes it took for the draw.
Daddy carried her limp body past the waiting room and out the door while stroking the blond curls.
The girl with the Kindle exhibited a mighty sour-looking face when her turn came as she walked to the draw station holding her mom’s hand.
But when through, the Kindle kid came back to the waiting room with a broad smile as her older sister moved quickly to provide a high-five, and at the same time Mom could be heard saying what a brave girl she was and how proud Mom was to be her mom.
What we put into parenting is what we get back.
The good news is that when a young kid can brave it through the lab tech’s needle we know smart parents really do exist.
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Having been the Kid who needed to get allergy shots twice a week for about a year, I inderstand both Girls. My Mother told me if I fought the tech it would only hurt more but if I was brave there was Ice cream to be had. Needless to say I decided brave was best. So soon even though I didn’t like the shots I knew it was better to be brave and not only get Ice Cream but get approval from my Mother. Also during my growing up years I never understood that I could make a specticle of my self by embarrassing my parents. It just was not done. So causing a scene never crossed my mind I would set and wait, read the book or magazine provided and talk quietly to my Mother.
Nice ! .
So good to hear at least one parent understands .
I only have Boys and I wonder if I’d be easily manipulated by a Daughter ? .
-Nate
Shirlee, you hit the nail on the head again. Parental role modeling is crucial. The mom reading her book obviously set the example for her two little girls. Doting Dad, on the other hand, had a wriggly little girl on his hands, not reading and just getting into mischief. When parents fully grasp the potency of their power by example, our world will be a better place! Thanks for the reminder.