4
I wonder if Mrs. Manson felt this way?
I believe I'm raising a child destined for greatness. It may be evil greatness but greatness nonetheless.
We got the kids bunnies for Easter. One was gray and the other pure white, which they named Floppy and Hoppy respectively. Floppy lasted for about a week an a half and succumbed to a heart attack. I was slightly disturbed that my little girl didn't even feel any sadness. I figured it was how she coped and she isn't really attuned to the concept of death yet. I let it slide.
To compensate for the absence of Floppy, (which I know is not good but the indulgent and stubborn mother in me won the battle) I bought the kids three goldfish. We couldn't put them in the pond yet since the sun was too hot, so we put them in a shallow square Tupperware container for the meantime. Little chick decided to touch them, just to see how they feel. I figured there wasn't any harm to that and let her.
It was about a couple of minutes later when she went to the kitchen to get a fork that I got suspicious. I watched her go back to the makeshift fishbowl with the fork and observed what she would do. She started stirring the bowl a little - just enough to create ripples but not enough to give the fish nausea. Then...
She scooped one of the fish out with her fork and put the fish on the floor. She let the fish flap a bit and put it back in the water. I immediately told her "Stop playing with the fish, Little Chick!" to which she replied "I'm not playing with it, Mommy"
"Well, what are you doing?"
"I'm torturing it."
Suddenly, I saw pictures flash through my head - orange jumpsuits, chains, handcuffs, Superior Courts and blood...lots of blood. Oh my freaking God. I was raising a serial killer.
"Honey, can you come here? Mommy needs to talk to you..."
***
I told her that what she was doing was wrong because it was hurting another living creature. I appealed to her better nature and elicited empathy from her. I told her that she should be a role model to her brothers and she should understand that being the eldest meant she had responsibilities. Of course she asked me what responsibilities were. She knows torturing but she doesn't know responsibilities??!! Go figure.
She changed her attitude and made sure that her brothers weren't "torturing" anything living anymore.
***
Maybe I should take a parenting class for future reference.
We got the kids bunnies for Easter. One was gray and the other pure white, which they named Floppy and Hoppy respectively. Floppy lasted for about a week an a half and succumbed to a heart attack. I was slightly disturbed that my little girl didn't even feel any sadness. I figured it was how she coped and she isn't really attuned to the concept of death yet. I let it slide.
To compensate for the absence of Floppy, (which I know is not good but the indulgent and stubborn mother in me won the battle) I bought the kids three goldfish. We couldn't put them in the pond yet since the sun was too hot, so we put them in a shallow square Tupperware container for the meantime. Little chick decided to touch them, just to see how they feel. I figured there wasn't any harm to that and let her.
It was about a couple of minutes later when she went to the kitchen to get a fork that I got suspicious. I watched her go back to the makeshift fishbowl with the fork and observed what she would do. She started stirring the bowl a little - just enough to create ripples but not enough to give the fish nausea. Then...
She scooped one of the fish out with her fork and put the fish on the floor. She let the fish flap a bit and put it back in the water. I immediately told her "Stop playing with the fish, Little Chick!" to which she replied "I'm not playing with it, Mommy"
"Well, what are you doing?"
"I'm torturing it."
Suddenly, I saw pictures flash through my head - orange jumpsuits, chains, handcuffs, Superior Courts and blood...lots of blood. Oh my freaking God. I was raising a serial killer.
"Honey, can you come here? Mommy needs to talk to you..."
***
I told her that what she was doing was wrong because it was hurting another living creature. I appealed to her better nature and elicited empathy from her. I told her that she should be a role model to her brothers and she should understand that being the eldest meant she had responsibilities. Of course she asked me what responsibilities were. She knows torturing but she doesn't know responsibilities??!! Go figure.
She changed her attitude and made sure that her brothers weren't "torturing" anything living anymore.
***
Maybe I should take a parenting class for future reference.
