It's inevitable. We all age. With that, we hope that we get a little smarter or at least wiser. In order to help our kids not make the mistakes we give them the nuggets of our wisdom to help them with life. We also show them in our exasperation things that they are doing that really bug us and for them to cut it out! What it all really helps them with is finding things that we told them that they swear they will never tell their kids. HA. This list is full of the things that you heard and have since relayed to your kids. Some of them you hated to hear and with more than a twinge of hypocrisy, you have told your spawn the self same things while simultaneously breathing a whisper of regret and new found understanding to your parents...
10. Turn that down! - It's interesting. Our appreciation of loud music tends to increase if it's music we like to listen to. As we age, many of us tend to loose some of our hearing. You would think that we would be more easy-going for loud things because we can barely hear them as it is. We aren't. We were told to turn our sounds down. And so, they will be told as well.
9. You need to pay more attention! - It's funny that we think that everything we tell our children is both interesting as well as informative. If we only had school to go to again, maybe we would pay better attention and make better use of our training years! If you ever get to go to a professional seminar, you will quickly remember just how much ADD you had as a kid. You might have even more now.
8. You make a better door than a window! - Or, Get out of the way! or Hey I'm watching TV! While this is a short term request to get someone out of the way, it becomes a long term lesson is being aware of your surroundings. Kids have an interesting way of thinking that the whole world revolves around them. This quick statement seems to help disabuse them of that notion.
7. Now is the time to prepare for your future! - Great statement. Because it's ALWAYS true! As adults we tend to regret the wasted time of our youth. When we see our own young waste their time we wish they would benefit from our wisdom and not waste it! The truth is, we can look at our own lives and see so much time that is wasted. If we are honest about our chastisements, we should first look at ourselves and lead the way.
6. Do you know how much that costs?! - Kids only know that they like things and they want things. Some people never grow out of this. There are other people that mistakenly think that THEY were never like that as a child and wonder why their own kids have this insatiable hunger to spend money they don't have. Don't you know that's what this country is built on?
5. Why don't you answer me? - Kids seem to be conveniently deaf. If they are interested in what they are doing and want plausible deniability when they are asked why they didn't answer, they will claim some kind of strange deafness. This deafness does not, however, extend to their cellphones, which they can hear at any distance in the house (making the broad assumption that the cellphone is somehow more than 1 foot away from them at any point in time).
4. I know you don't believe it, but I was a teenager once. - Kids don't believe you were ever a teenager. You can show them pictures. You can tell them stories. They will nod patiently and laugh at your young antics, but it will be impossible for them to visualize you as a teenager. The best you can hope for is that they see you as currently irresponsible.
3. Go to sleep! - Everyone knows that children are created out of our old boundless energy. That's why we are so tired all the time. As a result, they have no idea why they need to go to sleep, they aren't tired. Partly, they may not be tired, and partly they can't identify when they are tired. When my son was around 3 he was falling asleep in the car and started getting mad. When asked why he was mad he said 'My eyes don't work!' Talk about sleep denial. Now, un-alarmed, he will sleep until noon or later.
2. Try it! It's an acquired taste! - As Mom and Dad we want to expand the world of experience that our children have. We also want them to not be picky eaters. This is different than some parents that do the age old 'you aren't moving until you finish what is on your plate.' I've heard of some extreme cases where kids were left to eat the food no matter how old it got. This is a good way to give your kids eating disorders.
1. I feel sorry for your future husband/wife. - Usually offered when you stumble upon the cave of your young spawn. The disarray is not only disgusting, but amazing. Now I'm the last one to talk about clean areas as I'm a bit of a clutter guy. But I do keep the common living areas as clean as I can since we all have to live there. I heard my mom mention more than a few times how she pitied my future bride. Now my bride pities herself.
Enjoy the summer and Happy Fathers Day! 3 x 5 and we'll come back live.
