My son’s daughter can be a buger. She’ll be told “No, don’t mess with that,” but she will ALWAYS try it again any way, to the point where you feel like she’s thinking “I can control voice activation.” (Reaches for something again) “NO, Adriona!” Then she’ll grin like, “Yep! I still got it!” Then she’ll toddle over for a kiss. She stores up kisses against getting in “trouble.” She’s still not allowed to do whatever, ever. Everyone backs everyone else up. “No,” means “No.”
Rick and I got into a mild discussion about one of the other kids last night. They visited for a couple of hours yesterday. At one point I was grating Mozzarella cheese. Jaden (4) was standing next to me, so I handed him some cheese. He liked it.
A little later he came in to the kitchen, which he thought was empty. He didn’t realize Rick was watching. He saw a little cheese still on the plate, and reached up to get it. Rick startled the crap out of him by barking ”WHAT are you doing?”
Jaden jumped a mile, then asked if he could have the cheese.
Rick chuckled and said, “Sure.”
I thought Rick was wrong to startle the kid, by acting like he’d “caught” him doing something “wrong,” then laughing about it. I said I would have used it as a teaching opportunity, to teach Jaden that he needs to ask permission to take things.
Rick’s POV was that it was just a little scrap of cheese that was going to be tossed anyway. I said it was the concept that was important. He thought I was “over reacting.”
I still say, if it isn’t important, ignore it. If it is, address it. But don’t send mix messages, which is what I feel like he did.
That applies to this video. The parent has lost the opportunity to teach the child the concept of respect just because she’s is sooo cute.