Be Nice To Your Kids

I live in a big city, with lots of people and many different kinds of moms and dads. So many times I see people interacting with their children in unkind ways. Many times I have wanted to put a sign up on my front porch that says. “Be Nice To Your Kids”

One day I was walking home and I heard another dad talking to his 3 year daughter. He said “I’m not going to be manipulated by a f*cking 3 year old” I don’t have any idea what they were discussing, or what was going on there, but the kid was crying, the dad was pissed off, and the whole thing (to me) seemed un-necessary. I am not here to judge, I am simply using this as an example. I am not always patient and loving with my child, but there has to be a line right?

Respect. That’s what it comes down to. I think we should treat our children like they are humans. Not treat them like little adults, but treat them like they have worth and value. They are little impressionable people. Everything you say or do affects them.

Yesterday I had to make my daughter a grilled cheese sandwich…and we were out of bread, so she began to get upset. I sat down, looked her in the eye and said “I know you want a grilled cheese, so I tell you what….i have a way to make the best grilled cheese you will ever taste, and I don’t have to use bread”….she was confused, and intrigued. Validate their emotions (for the curious, I used a bagel that I cut the “ends” of the of, slathered it with “butter” and made it that way)…I could have been like “ listen I don’t have any bread, so you are going to get a sandwich the way I make it like it or not.

She would have been on the defensive, and not interested in the sandwich because it was an alternative that she was not invested in. The way I approached the situation made her interested in this amazing sandwich. In the end, she loved it. Now, its not the same with every kid, I know this. I am simply using this as an example of how to figure out the best way to engage your children.

Treat our kids like human beings.

Another day I was walking home and I heard a parent from inside their home yelling “shut up you f*cking little bi#ch” also heard were the screams and cries of what sounded like a 2 or 3 year old girl. I wanted to go in that house and beat the crap out of whoever was talking to that kid. It is amazing to me what people think is acceptable.

So again I say. Be nice to your kids. If you treat them with the kind of respect you expect for yourself, they will begin ( I assume) to model that kind of behavior. I am not saying give your kid equal vote, stake, and say in every situation, that’s not what I am saying. I am saying, treat them with respect. If you shut them down, or push them aside for your “agenda” then I feel this squashes the spirit, and shapes a developing identity poorly.

So, come on people, Be Nice to your kids. They have value, they have worth.