If you read the title of this post and don't pick up on the sarcasm, let me go ahead and iterate that was intended to be very sarcastic. It escapes me where these kids of ours learn some of the things they do until I really sit down and think about and unfortunately many times Kasey and I have to do a self evaluation and be aware that sometimes they pick up these little habits from us. Just the other day Lily "whatevered" me. We were having a discussion about something she wanted to do and she did not care for my explanation as to why she could not do it, so she ended the conversation by walking away with one hand waving in the air saying, "whatever Daddy". Trying to keep my composure and not drop kick her, while I was standing there it hit me that on occasion when I have had enough of an argument or feel that I have said my peace and do not care to hear another rebuttal, I too will end the discussion with "whatever". So when the apple does not fall too far from the tree, maybe it's time to not only correct Lily's behavior but it means it is time to be more conscientious of the way I communicate as well.
If you are new to the blog or just don't recall some of my earlier stories, there is a trend that keeps popping over and over as I write and reflect on the story. More often than not, it is one of the kids who has taught me something about myself. And of course I knew there was some room for improvement but this is starting to become a scary trend now.
Back to the topic at hand, it is not just our 5 year old who seems to have the conversational skills of a teen. The twins have the luxury of not only learning from us, but they pick up many things from their sassy big sister as well. It is only a matter of time before one of them is told to finish their milk and they respond, "whatever". I don't recall if it was Abby or Chloe (unfortunately that happens quite a bit) or the exact circumstance, but I was efforting to give instructions on how to do something and the child tells me, "don't worry about it Daddy". Really? Really? You are 2 1/2 years old and you just said those words to me, I can't wait until they are teenagers.
To our credit (notice I said our and not their), more often than not they are respectful and well mannered kids. As I have mentioned before, manners and being respectful are some of the traits that we will instill into our kids. Lily is constantly getting compliments on how well mannered she is and it makes us very proud to hear that from other parents. It does take a lot of work and a lot of repetition correcting your kids and building those habits, but the work is worth it. Nothing erks me more than hearing a kid respond to me with "yeah". Right up there with that one are kids who instead of asking for something, tell you "I want". I could care less what you want, but if you ask nicely I'd be happy to get it for you. Our rationale for teaching our kids this way is not to be overly strict, but it will carry over into other aspects of their life down the road. We try to speak to the kids the same way we ask them to speak to us as well, though I will admit I don't use many please and thank yous when I'm yelling at them for drawing on the walls.
In other news, Lawson is so close to taking his first steps. His bag of tricks is expanding, he has learned to wave and when you say hi to him, he will attempt to say hi back. It really comes out as just and H sound, but along with the wave it is apparent he gets it. I even caught him yesterday waving to himself and saying hi. Along with the fun little things he is doing, he has also learned how to fight for a toy. If Abby and Chloe have something he wants or they take a toy from him, it does not make him happy. If they are close enough in proximity he will go ahead and grab a hand full of hair or simply punch them. Of course they like to get just close enough for him to hit them and then come tell us that Lawson hit them. Sorry kid, you asked for it. They know they have the upper hand on him right now because they have the gift of mobility. What they do not realize is as soon as he gets to walking, that advantage goes out the window and though they may be a little bigger than him right now, he is definitely more aggressive and could probably take them down. Soon enough they will figure out there are 2 of them and start working in conjunction to plot against him and their big sis...........but whatever.
Jeff, Kasey, Lily, Abby, Chloe and Lawson Boy
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