In an attempt to lose the baby girth that has gathered around my mid-section, I have been faithfully attending aerobics at our local church house every other day. It leaves some things to be desired, for sure, but at least I am getting my sweat on and the little bigs are burning some energy as they bike around the church house gym and halls with the other kids.
Well... I am having second thoughts. My Kaelster has added another "uh-oh" to his rap sheet and this time, it was the old pulling of the fire alarm. Which may be a somewhat frequent occurrence according to the other ladies, but is mortifying nonetheless.
Do you recall watching Dennis the Menace and seeing his little hands just fidget and flinch when he wanted so badly to touch something but knew that he shouldn't? Big K has that syndrome. He is a little mechanical engineer and he must, MUST push buttons, pull levers, open doors and turn knobs.
When I ran out to the hall to determine if it was indeed one of my little rascals that pulled this stunt, Kaelster was sitting against the wall next to the alarm pointing at me and saying, "Don't Touch!" Followed swiftly by a "Saw-Yay"... which is the most humble and sincere version of sorry in case you didn't know. And it was a good thing he served up his apology with puppy dog eyes and humble pie because mama was not happy.
So after I called dispatch to cancel the order of the local fire crew and then called the building manager to stop the alarm... the parenting guilt crept up. Why my kid? Am I not doing a good job teaching him boundaries and discipline? I would like to help him maintain his curiosity and his zest for self discovery, but not at the expense of him learning to obey the rules. What could I be doing better? Are we trodding along on the path to upstanding citizenship and bright futures?
Simple questions, like that start racing through my brain and it is there that they fester.
Oui.
If I haven't already done so, I hereby tip my hat to all the parents of the world past and present.
This rodeo ain't easy.
And my high on life self has to admit that the calamities are at times hilarious (especially in hind sight) but I do so hope that my soon-to-be gaggle of toddlers will leave some disastrous stones unturned. Fair Enough?
Please, pretty please, if you have an embarrassing story that involves children, crowds, emergency services, etc. let me know. Misery loves company ya'll. :)
4 comments:
We have all been there..those ladies were laughing with you not at you..my brother peed in the church drinking fountain when he was little and also yelled as he was being taken out "save me bishop, save me" It's all part of raising these chilluns.
My little brother pulled the fire alarm at a school while my other brother was playing basketball. He was about four, so he REALLY should have known better. This was back in the pre-cell phone days, so my dad ran frantically through the school looking for a phone so that the fire trucks didn't come screaming in. A cop actually responded and my parents had to talk to him in person and explain the situation. So see! At least you only got laughed at over the phone. And you are doing great. Two-year-olds really DON'T have the ability to control themselves sometimes. At least he realized he was wrong! Hang in there, there are more oopses to come.
My kids haven't done that... yet :) but I do know that they say kids don't have any impulse control until they are 3--read that in a article about when to put your kid in a big kid bed and that was their comment, put them in a bed, but if they get the thought in their head "I want a cookie" they jump up and do it, it's not a debate of good/evil, it's just what they do. If he was 16 and doing that, then maybe be worried. But at 2? eh, just curiosity :)
Like the time Ben pushed the emergency call button in the elevator and dispatch came on speaker phone. "So there's no emergency?" "No. Now can I just slink out of here invisibly, please!"
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