Today, my child was "That Kid."
That Kid that tries to duck under the rope blocking everyone from the dinosaur bone exhibit.
That Kid who was throwing sand where all the other kids were nicely using brushes to "discover" the dinosaur bones.
That Kid who climbed up onto the ledge of the balcony over a 3-story drop.
That Kid who kept running away from the rest of the group and bumping into people.
That Kid who wouldn't let anyone else have a turn at the water pump exhibit.
That Kid who kept sticking his hands all over the glass, making handprints right in front of the rare species of frog so no one else could see it.
Today, I was "That Mom."
That Mom who can't keep her kid under control.
That Mom who never smiles.
That Mom who doesn't speak in soft, quiet, tones, but rather yells and screams.
That Mom who must be clueless.
Today, I was also "That Mom."
That Mom who wanted to enrich her child's life by providing an educational activity with friends, rather than sitting at home in front of the TV all day.
That Mom who is trying desperately hard to instill values, such as obedience, respect, kindness, and self-control, in a rambunctious 4-year old.
That Mom who has to scare her kid with death, because death is the only thing he is afraid of, and there was no other way to prevent him from climbing onto the ledge of a balcony overlooking a 3-story drop, except to tell him that if he fell, he would die.
That Mom who slaps the hand of her child when he touches something he shouldn't, because he hasn't responded to verbal commands to do so.
That Mom who had to put on her "loud voice" because her child ran way ahead of everyone in a large crowd.
That Mom who put her kid in time out when they got home so she could write this blog post and clear her head a little.
Because,
One Day "That Kid" will become a responsible citizen.
One Day "That Kid" will understand how to respect authority.
One Day "That Kid" will realize that he has to be considerate of other people.
One Day "That Kid" will have the self-discipline to keep himself out of dangerous predicaments.
One Day "That Kid" will be "A Good Man."
So if I have to be "That Mom" to teach "That Kid" how to become "A Good Man," it's all worth it.
1 comment:
So interesting that I just came from reading a post at another blog where the blogger complained about the behavior of some kids on a plane and how her children never behave that way ... and now your honesty here. Sometimes my kids are "that kid" too -- it's part of growing up, and yes they do need to learn. What some people don't realize is it's not always the parents' fault: kids have bad days too, or they try to test limits that they know their parents have set, or they have medical or mental issues that people aren't aware of. So good for you!
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