I took Caleb with me to run errands today. He was excited to go, and I realized something for the tenth time - my kids are so different by themselves! Get Caleb away from Sam, and he's such a sweet, quiet little boy. Sam, by contrast, is pretty loud, even when he's away from Caleb. We did 2 hours worth of shopping without any discipline problems. Of course, there was the usual, "Let's buy this! How about this? Can we get this?" Most of the time he had no idea what the item was, but hey, new stuff is always fun, right? He responded very rationally to my "No, not this time." I was even commended by a salesperson for saying "no" to my child. Yes, I have no inhibitions about using that word! So we had a really fun time, and I was reminded yet again how important it is for both Brian and I to spend time alone with each of our children and see them as individuals rather than just a part of the tribe, so to speak. Of course I love my children, but doing this occasionally helps me to like them again.
2 comments:
The salesperson should have berated you for denying your child something new! After all, they depend on you to buy things so that they make money. A salesperson commending a customer for not buying something goes against a retailer's whole purpose. Why do you think they put all those knick-knacks and candies in the check out aisle? So that children see them and beg their parents until the parent can do nothing else but give in. It's only a couple dollars. You should report that salesperson to the store supervisor!
Good point!
Post a Comment