Isn't it fun to put your experiences in life to use on your children?
As a child, we lived in a two-story apartment where one whole side of the apartment was adjoined to the next. My dear mother, being ever courteous and considerate of our neighbors, wanted to be sure we didn't disturb them. Therefor, if one of us children (four rowdy boys and one ornery girl) would happen upon the disfavor of said parent, one oft-used punishment was to climb and descend the stairway X amount of times SILENTLY. At the time, aside from pleasing our neighbors with our silence, I could not see any possible use for this skill in my adult life.
UNTIL I had children. We now live in a very old (originally built in 1871) very creaky house. With many thanks to my mother (NEVER thought I'd write that phrase) I am able to be beside my children without warning. I have employed this skill to stop fights, correct the errant child, and surprise my four daughters when they decide to have a slumber party instead of going to sleep at night. Time and again, my children have been caught off-guard by my stealth. This usually results in one or more of my offspring whispering "freaky".
During one of my slumber party busts, I got so close to Froggie that I could whisper in her ear, so I said the following:
"It's freaky how sneaky your Daddy can be."
As my children desperately try to figure out how to hear me coming, I am encouraged to find that an otherwise pointless exercise has become useful. So, as I am designing appropriate discipline for my children, I have hope that they may be able to find some future benefit from some useless form of punishment.
3 comments:
That's hilarious! Have you actually told your MOM thanks for that? ;)
Good luck today!
No. Never have, and probably never will. In fact, unless she reads it here or a little birdie tells her, she will never know the extent to which she has frustrated her grandchildren.
LOL!! Jon, you really should tell her that not everything she did to you as a kid left gaping wounds in your soul. We moms like to hear that now and then, ya know!
Maybe you could sneak up on her to show her how good you are at it. ;0)
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