Sue’s Views: Other people’s children…
The worst I encountered was an acquaintance’s child, about four years old, who looked like a progeny of the cabbage patch kids.
What is it about other people’s children that has you either literally tearing your hair out in frustration or green with envy at their well-behaved demeanour. From snot gobblers to angelic cherubs and everything in-between, inevitably I have come across them at some stage of my life.
The worst I encountered was an acquaintance’s child, about four years old, who looked like a progeny of the cabbage patch kids. Cunning as a fox that one and just as devious. You know, the kind that glances furtively about to make sure nobody is looking and accidentally on purpose bites, kicks or pinches another child. Mummy and daddy did not believe in any form of discipline…and it showed!
As for mum or dad, when they were sufficiently motivated to ‘discipline’ their offspring it was a case of “Oh no you are a naughty girl and mamma is very upset.”
What? You’ve got to be kidding. This is the child that has just taken a sizeable chunk out of another child and its beady little eyes have already lined up the next victim. Much debate surrounds appropriate discipline techniques and society has pretty much dictated that a swift smack to the bottom of a misbehaving child can land you in serious hot water with the law.
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One school of thought believes in the parent removing the offending child from the situation until such a time they learn appropriate behaviour. One little gem from empowering parents.com tells the story of four year old Samantha who liked to take a bite out of one particular child in her play group. It goes on to say her mother attempted to talk to her about not biting but despite this Samantha continued to nibble away on the other child until eventually her mother said, “Biting is wrong. If you bite again we will leave immediately and will not come back to play group today.”
Sure enough, Samantha tested the waters and bit again. Swiftly and safely her mother whisked Samantha out of the park, kicking and screaming and said “This is what happens when you bite. If you do it again, we will leave again.” My question…..just how many times does the poor child on the receiving end of Samantha’s gnashers have to go through this torment in order for Samantha to learn her lesson?
As for my own children, when they were growing up, they only ever got as far as biting a child once for I would bite them back, so perhaps the old adage “once bitten, twice shy” applies in more ways than one.
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