Friday 11 July 2014

When parents are the ones who need to learn

Where are the lasers?!

You know those mice in experiments, the really dumb ones who keep trying to get the cheese even though every time they do they get zapped? Well that's me this week.

Firstly I bought an instant pasta meal at the supermarket for dinner. I used to like this particular dish for a treat every now and then but went off it a few years ago because I think they changed the formula and it tasted wrong. For some reason though, this week I thought it would be a good idea to give it a whirl. Maybe they've got the old flavour back? Maybe I was wrong before? Is that cheese I see dangling in front of the aisle? Man, I was seriously excited about dinner and couldn't wait to smack my lips around that tasty sauce.

ZAP! It was disgusting. This was one meal I couldn't actually blame the kids for not liking. Only my husband liked it. I KNEW it was crap so why on earth did I think it would magically taste awesome again? Why did I buy it?!

My next 'mouse moment' came when I broke my 'no TV before bed during the week' rule and let the boys watch a bunch of British children's shows about neurons and other 'educational' things while I collapsed on the couch.

ZAP! All hell broke loose. Screaming and crying about the telly being turned off, fighting over who then would get to turn it back on again to once more be turned off for good, screaming every step of the way into bed, and so on.

I know TV right before bed turns them mental, so WHY did I cave?!

And then yesterday, I took the boys to one of their favourites parks (which is about a 30 minute drive)...and brought sandwiches in my bag.

ZAP! From past experiences I knew to leave them in the car so why didn't I?! As to be expected, within seconds of getting to the park my eldest sat down and demanded sandwiches even though it was 10 o'clock and he'd had cheese and crackers on the way there (on top of breakfast of course). When I explained that it wasn't lunch yet and that we hadn't just driven there to sit and eat, the meltdown commenced and his brother joined in on the caterwauling.

So I caved and gave them one quarter each only. They played for a bit and then went in for round two. When I refused and tried to lure them back on the slides and other playground action, the craziness really kicked off. Both were screaming like their arms and legs were on fire, tears pouring down their faces, writhing in the sand in front of strangers... It's no wonder I burst into tears myself.

We finally left after I couldn't take it any more and guess what? On the trip home one of them didn't even want his sandwiches anyway. Toddler insanity.

Anyhow the point is I knew how that situation would unfold, plus dozens of others involving the boys that happen on a daily basis. So why do I keep going for the cheese when I know I'm going to get zapped?!

As parents we all want our children to learn from their mistakes, but in light of my recent behaviour perhaps it's us parents that really need to learn.

Mmmm cheese...


How often do you keep getting zapped?

Photo credit

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for sharing your two cents with One Woman Circus!