I'm still trying to figure "me" out on the Internet. I'm trying my hand at typing posts like I talk/how I think instead of how I think they should be.
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Now that the house keeping is done..I want to announce to the world...that...
I want to punch mean kids in the face.
Ugh. I know. That sounds SO horrible when I actually type it.
I know that one day Bean or Reid will have a 'mean kid moment' and someone may want to punch them in the face...But seriously, mean kids..or kids whose parents don't tell them to stop being mean, make me sooo mad.
I think I am a helicopter parent. Here are the reasons why:
1. I will show up, randomly, to school to check on them, teacher(s), administration, and general happenings.
2. I have no problem telling kids they are not suitable to be around mine if they exhibit behavior like disregard for education, excessively use drugs/alcohol, are overly sexual, and anything else Mozart and I decide.
3. I will tell a parent that their child needs some major behavior readjustments.
4. I will, as much as I can, go to practices and EVERY game/recital/art show.
5. I have the urge (but I control it) to punch kids in the face that are mean to my kids and their parents if it's not corrected...and would do it if I didn't have morals and common sense.
Some of those things seem mean or may result in ME getting punched in the face but....
Well, I guess there will be a lot of punching then, right?
There have been 'mean kid moments' that have made me want to rip out my own heart. This girl of mine and the situations we're in together has aged me10 years and she's only 2!
Sometimes when an older kid was mean to her I wanted to jump in the middle of them, get down to their level, and give them a piece of mind.
How DARE they talk to my child like that, are they freakin' crazy? But I don't.
But here's how it plays out in my head.
In my head, after I tell them off and they are either crying or...hit me... I go to their parents and give them a tongue lashing too. Because while I'm trying to raise a good person who will give something to the world they are letting their little terrorist run around on the playground.
After that, I obviously feeling good about myself and take Bean for ice cream. There I tell her that sometimes kids are mean but not to worry because Mommy will take care of those evil people.
Then my mind jumps 20 years into the future and the mean kid is in a dead end job and their parents are in a horrible nursing home facility. While my kids are running the country and I'm livin' it up with Mozart on a private island.
Obviously I don't live in my head, though sometimes it would be fun.
In the real world when kids are mean to mine I fight my urge to scream out (and at them). Instead I use those situations as teaching moments. I tell the other kid that they are not being very nice and suggest a nice thing to do. If I don't catch it in time but know that Bean's feelings have been hurt I speak softly to her about what happened. And she usually says "Yes...that's not nice." and my heart breaks over and over and over again.
I know that one day some mom will have to tell their kid that my kids did a not so nice thing. My kids will hurt feelings, push and shove- I know all of that. I also know that I will be there to teach them how to behave when they think acting out is a solution. I'll teach them to to express themselves without cutting other's down and how to repair hurt feelings.
But not everyone thinks like me, so I know Mozart and I will be left picking up their spirits.
It's hard explaining the ways of the world to a 2 year old who only wanted to play but was told "STOP FOLLOWING ME!"
All this makes me think about how I will navigate these things.
Like, what will I do if Reid is teased in the locker room other than create a petition to ban locker rooms?
Or how to keep myself from being caught on a YouTube video when I fight some 12 or 13 year old girl who told the whole school my daughter is a slut.
Better yet,
Why can't children stay small? Why do we have to teach them as best we can and hope that they can protect themselves out there?
But most importantly, why is the pain we parents feel when our children are hurting so damn consuming?