Return of the Wise Ass

Be careful what you say to your
kids....sometimes they actually
listen to you.

We made it through most of the first day of our recent summer trip to Sesame Place. By the time 4 o’clock in the afternoon rolled around the kids were tired and getting cranky. My 3 year old daughter definitely needed a nap and my five year old son, whether he would admit it or not, was in desperate need of one too. We were heading to the next ride and my son threw a fit. After mentally drop kicking him, I looked down and said “What the heck is wrong? We’re going to the next ride.” He looked at me and said “I don’t want to go to that ride. You keep taking us to the rides and telling us which one to go on. I want to go down a water slide.” I thought about how to reply to this rant for a minute and responded “We came to this park for you and your sister. We like Sesame Street and all that stuff but we wouldn’t have come here unless we had you. We are here for you, you need to remember that.” The speech seemed to calm him down and the rest of the night went without incident. The next day we arrived at the park and went down the list of attractions to hit. There was a water slide I wanted to go down…..one of those big wedgy-givers. I said to the kids “Daddy wants to go down this water slide first.” My son looked at me and said “Dad, I thought you said you were here for me and my sister, not for you and mommy. Why are you telling us what rides to go on?” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was impressed that he actually listened to my dissertation on being good the day before. I think I’ve learned the hard way many times over that I need to be really careful what I say to the kids. It may seem to solve a problem at the time but seems to bite me in the ass somewhere down the road. I think every parent goes through this….eventually your kids will turn your lecturing and correcting against you.