My sister is talking to her 2-year-old daughter Klubnikis.
“Is Klubnikis a princess?”
“Yes!”
“Is Mommy a princess?”
“Yes!”
“Is Daddy a princess?”
“No!”
“Why isn’t Daddy a princess?”
“Because he is a boy!”
Maybe I shouldn’t have children, after all, because my first automatic response is, “Well, Daddy can be a princess if that’s who he wants to be.” There is nothing worse than a preachy parent.
I’ll bet you daddy is a princess — the sort of guy who has to be the center of attention, that is. Children are perceptive about things like that.
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Oops I realize I’m talking about your brother-in-law! (I just took two antihistamines. It was the drugs, your honor!)
So is he a princess? (*runs away*)
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I asked my parents the same question as a wee one, and was told that my parents abdicated their thrones so they could live in peace and quiet, so could I please not ask that again. 😛
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That cracked me up! Abdicated their thrones. Also, the answer to “Is Mommy a Princess” is “only if she wants to be” of course.
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“There is nothing worse than a preachy parent.”
I do get your sentiment but sometimes I just can’t help it. I’m not a parent but I spend a lot of time with my nephew (6) and niece (3). One day we were talking about something and he said ‘you’re stronger than my mom because you’re a man’. And I really had to tell him that I was stronger only because I work out in the gym and she doesn’t. Not because I’m a guy. Then I showed him youtube videos of women lifting huge weights in the gym, doing pullups, etc. and told him that they’d kick my ass all day (which is true, I can’t even do 5 pullups). He understood what I was saying. Does that seem preachy to you? What would you do?
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I think what you did was great. And very educational.
I just know that I have a tendency to be preach because I’m a teacher. I get this didactic voice that sounds annoying even to myself. 🙂
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Actually, when they are little, being a preachy parent isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you explain your pronouncements; you want them to understand your values so that they will want to adopt/internalize those values as well.
The way you are is all they know, after all; children take you as you are.
Now, when they are teenagers, and have a sense of other people’s parents, they might do some talking back or rebelling. Or they might not; depends on the kid and the relationship you’ve built.
I know on a few subjects I was a preachy parent (proper care of animals was one). Probably why one of my kids does dog rescue and the other volunteers at a shelter..
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Oh, and my brother-in-law is a great guy. He reads the blog but never comments. (Which isn’t what makes him a great guy, of course.)
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Is aunti Clari a princess?
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No, I’m a king. 🙂
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well in our family the answer would be a definite yes
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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