Parenting 101

The other day our family went to the Dollar Tree. It's our kids favorite store because they can buy anything they want to. It's always a fun trip for the Wilson Family. Well, the kids were looking for their toy when I over heard a funny thing. I passed by a Mom and a little girl in a cart about age 5. Well, the little girl had picked up a stuffed pink monkey. As I was passing her I heard the Mom tell her to put that thing down. The girl didn't. Then I heard the Mom say, "You better that thing down or you will never go into another store ever again." I told Randy what that lady said, and we laughed about how that little girl had better savor that trip to the Dollar Tree since it would be her last time to ever step foot in a store for her entire life. I saw that girl a few aisle later and she still had the pink monkey.

Why on earth do parents make threats as stupid as that, and threats that they know they will not keep? Randy and I decided early on in parenting that we were going to do our best not to do that. We knew that 'Counting" was not going to be part of our parenting. I'm assuming you know what I mean by counting. You know, it's when you tell your kid to get off the kitchen table and they just look at you to see if you mean business and you start counting to 3. You count 1...2...3 and the theory behind it is that when you get to three the kid gets in big trouble. The problem with this theory is that I've never seen a parent get to three and then the big trouble happens. Well, that's just one of the problems with counting.

If you are a friend of mine and you count please don't be offended, but I think that's one of the most ridiculous things a parent can do! If you tell your kid to do something and they aren't doing it...I think the only counting that should be going on is how many pops the kid is going to get.

Well, to add to the story the other day the kids and I met Randy at McDonald's for lunch. We were eating and our kids were playing. Everything was boring until this lady told 'Alex" it was time to go. He was playing in the playground center and I immediately spotted Alex. He looked right at her and paused then hurried up the playground. I heard her tell him again, but he didn't care. Then she started to count...1...2...ALEX GET DOWN HERE. He only went faster. He didn't care at all. So, she pulled out her second weapon. She said, "Do you want me to call PawPaw?" He said no so she told him he better get down. Of course he did not get down and she did not get off her bottom. Why in the world would you threaten to CALL anyone? First of all what's PawPaw going to do Yell at the kid on the phone? Why do parents threaten kid's with other people? Okay, it still didn't end. She pulled out the ol' "I'm going to leave you" trick. You know that one. The kid won't obey so you threaten to leave him there to live on his own at McDonald's. Oh yeah, that sounds rough.

WHY?????

Randy and I were laughing so hard. She yelled at Alex from her seat until he finally got thirsty and came down when he wanted to. As they were leaving the lady stopped by to look at CASTBOY. She asked if he had problems with his legs. I said, "No, his legs are fine it's just that last time we came to McDonald's he wouldn't come out of the playground when I told him to so I broke both his legs. Next time he will listen to me!"