I usually don’t pay attention to what people say about my kids. But when you hear the same thing, two days in a row, you have to stop and wonder…
Am I raising wimpy kids?
We were at a friend’s place for a visit when Lucy tripped and fell on her knees. She immediately started crying. My friend said “Oh, you’re okay. You can get up. That wasn’t even a big fall.” But Lucy didn’t get up. She just sat on the ground and cried.
So I picked her up and cuddled with her until she stopped crying.
Then the next day, we were visiting other friends at a park. Sam was running towards me and tripped. He stumbled a bit, but managed to catch himself before he fell. It startled him though, and he made a little whimper while he ran towards me. My friend said “Oh you’re okay, you didn’t even fall. Imagine the reaction if you actually fell!”
By then Sam was already in my arms, sniffling.
Two days. Two kids. Two comments.
It made me think “Am I raising wimpy kids?”
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the comments from my good friends. I always want them to feel comfortable talking to my kids, interacting with them, and even disciplining them when necessary.
And I definitely believe if you over-react to something like a fall, the child’s response will be to over-react as well. So I appreciate my friends for saying what they said and I love them for saying what they said… but…
(You knew there was a ‘but’ coming… J)
… there are always extenuating circumstances… like I knew Lucy was overtired and we were pushing nap time back to accommodate that particular visit. And I know Sam was a little overwhelmed with all the noises and activities at the park. And maybe that made them a little more sensitive on those particular occasions.
Am I making excuses?
Maybe.
But from now on I will make an effort to get Lucy and Sam to “shake it off” instead of “cuddle it out.”
But….
(I had to throw another ‘but’ in there…)
I do have twins…
So if you think about this mathematically… even if I am snuggling and cuddling a child every waking moment of my life, I’m still only snuggling each of them individually 50% of the time. And “cuddling it out” 50% of the time isn’t that bad, is it?
… how’s that for an excuse?
J
