How we interact as parent and child, translated…
We were eating at my mother-in-law’s, I’d picked up the slacks after the meals, the kids went to the living room to watch T.V., my younger daughter who’d gotten the remote first, watched the cartoons, while flipping through the illustrated book she’d brought along, her older brother who was late to the living room wanted to change the channels, but couldn’t find the remote, and in the end, he’d found, that his baby sister had, hidden it, he’d gotten angry with her, started screaming, “You’re NOT watching T.V.! Why did you hide the remote! I’d tried to find it everywhere!”, his younger sister shouted back, “Why are you so mean, I got the remote first!”
And their argument that got loud scared their two-year-old younger cousin, and, my in-laws both rushed out to soothe him. And, I’d quickly, finish tidying up the kitchens, called my kids to go home, the two of them stared at each other as they’d packed up their backpacks.
The way the children behaved, seemed to be an indicator of how the mother is, and, it’d, annoyed me when my kids started fighting at my in-law’s house, like how I’d brought along a product to show a client, and, I’d, set the item on fire, I’d felt, powerless and absurd; I would’ve allowed them, to fight physically back home, but, when we’re out, it wasn’t quite right, and so, I can only, pack it all up, and go home.
On the way home, I kept pondering, how I’m going to, dissolve this conflict, do I, use love to teach, let them tell their sides of the stories, then, apologize to one another; or, use my firm hand in discipline, and hand down the punishments. As I thought, I got more and more furious, decided, that as we got home, I will, totally punish them both first.
As we’d arrived into the elevator of our building, my younger daughter found a colorful set of glitter markers inside her older brother’s backpack, she’d leaned in toward him, played coy, “Brother, how come you have this?”, and I saw my son, who was, so angered, replying back to her with glee, “it’s a gift my classmate didn’t want from his afternoon class program!”, the two of them started whispering how they will be using the glitter markers, before we got to the door, they’d already, made up.
Hey kid! Mom’s still pissed off here!
So, this is what kids are, easy come, easy go, and, sometimes, as the adults get infuriated over their childish ways, they had already, made up with each other, and, they look at us, and wonder: why are you mad mommy, or daddy? And what CAN we do, huh?