I've been somewhat entertained by a rambunctious 5-year old boy who is keeping himself busy by stomping on one of those electrical outlets in the floor. It's completely covered so there's little harm he can do to himself; however, he does seem intent on busting up either the floor or his ankle.
Hey, what else are you gonna do in a hospital lobby!
Apparently his dad has had just about enough because he told told his son, "If you stomp on that hard enough it will shock you and kill you!"
OK, I realize that Dad was probably tired of his son trying to jack-hammer himself into the floor. And I realize that electrical outlets are nothing to play with even if they are covered with a metal plate. I also realize that said electrical outlet could render Wonder Boy quite a shock . . .
. . . but is there not a better way to say 'Please stop'?
In the boy's defense, once he realized he was on the brink of his own demise he quietly found something else to do.
But I'm sitting here wondering why parents tell kids little white lies or stretched truths in order to get them to do something.
One wives tales I remember is not to go to bed with wet hair or you'll get pneumonia. What does wet hair have to do with getting pneumonia? I remember thinking how awful it would be to wake up the next morning and suddenly have pneumonia . . .
. . . Uh-oh! While typing this post I just realized that I am apparently in the midst of a conversation with a 10-year old boy sitting next to me. He's showing me his "$168 Nintendo DS" and its "awesome graphics!"
"But my sister dropped it and now the sound doesn't work so good. She always breaks my stuff! Does your computer have any cool games?"
"Yeah, ever heard of Solitaire?"
I'm literally dictating as he is talking to me! I have no idea who this kid is or where he came from . . . but he won't stop talking to me! I hope he doesn't look at my computer screen or else I'm busted! Maybe I can get rid of him by telling him to go stomp on an electrical outlet!
Whoops! I think he just told me a little too much information about his sister's doctor's appointment.
I love kids but why do they feel like they can just come up and start talking? This happens to me all the time! Haven't these kids ever heard the old wives tale of "Don't talk to strangers!"
Aw, look at that! It's lunch time! Sorry, kid - hope your sister gets help with her "girl problems"!
(That's right! He actually told me his sister was here because of her "girl problems!")
6 comments:
"But I'm sitting here wondering why parents tell kids little white lies or stretched truths in order to get them to do something."
Oh Wade. I'm gonna file this away for when Tate is 5. Trust me. You won't believe it now - looking at your sweet baby boy - but there will come a time when you find yourself at the end of a very long day, saying in frustration to a tantrum-ing child, something like "If you don't stop yelling that big bulging vein in your neck is going to pop."
Jill ;)
I agree with Jill there will come a day...
I think you probably give off a vibe of nice stranger or something. We are working on stranger danger in our home and Gracelyn says "But he was a nice stranger." She obviously knows what stranger means but catagorizes them in her mind. SCARY!!! We have lots of work to do.
Anyways keep the laughs coming!
Hey Jill!
Be sure to file that away in a big folder because that won't be last thing I say as a naive new parent that'll come back to haunt me.
But at the same time . . . it seems to me to be a bit of a double-standard to expect kids to learn how to reason using logic and common sense yet meantime we tell them, "Don't touch that frog or else you'll get worts!"
If you don't want the kid to touch the frog then say, "Hey kid - that frog is nasty-dirty! Leave it alone!"
(I laugh as I type because I used to keep frogs as pets and walk around with them in my pockets!)
But you're probably right, I'll probably be the one telling Tate not to sit too close to the TV or else he'll go completely blind.
By the way . . . how's Callie? I keep checking your blog for updates! I hope she's adjusting well!
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Hey Keri,
Let me say that I love talking and playing with kids that I know such as those at church.
But it is always the funniest thing when kids who don't know you suddenly walk up and start talking to you.
This kid yesterday had probably been talking to me for at least 3 minutes without me noticing because (1) I was hyper-focused on blogging and (2) he was sitting on my right side (deaf ear side) and I didn't hear him.
I'm glad he felt comfortable talking to me but you're right - stranger danger is a big deal. I guess that's yet another balancing act we have to teach our children - how to be cautiously friendly.
Thanks for stopping by,
W
That's funny, I don't care who you are!
LOL I had to laugh when I read "kids" and "logic and common sense" in the same sentence!! Heehee.
Callie is awesome. I really am planning to get back to blogging soon. Really.
Have fun on your father/son weekend of fun!!
-Jill :)
Hey Jill,
Yeah, I guess it is a bit of a stretch to think of kids learning logic and common sense.
I'm just hoping that most will find my naiveness (real word?) as an endearing character trait!
Glad to hear Callie is doing well - can't wait for pictures. Please blog soon!
TFSB,
W
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