This morning as I sat on my front porch, enjoying my morning guilty pleasure of coffee and a smoke, I watched a couple kids ride their bikes down the sidewalk. I could tell they were about 9-10 in age and brother-sister. They actually could have been twins... then again I think everyone is a "twin." (Drives my husband nuts... HEY I BET THEY ARE TWINS! I mean, gawwwd they have the SAME last name and everything.)
There wouldnt really been much to take interest in but the boy was trying to RIDE his bike while holding onto a SPEAKER. Not a little speaker either... like a floor to CEILING speaker. It really was quite amusing to watch.
Suddenly the boy stops to rest and the girl circles back around on her bike to see why in the hell he stopped.
Girl: Are you coming?
Boy: whining and screaming MY ARM FREAKING HURTS WHAT DO YOU THINK!
Girl: You should hold it on your handlebars.
Boy: straight screaming SHUT-UP! DO YOU WANT ME TO HIT YOU SO HARD IT KILLS YOU? CAUSE THAT WOULD HURT. DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO?
The first thing to pop into my head was "Bet that phrase has been screamed at that kid a time or two." Jesus.
Then I really started thinking about that exchange of hostilities and it really bothered me. I do understand that siblings can be extremely harsh to one another. (I should so insert an apology to my sister or something here.) But I was bothered more because I can pretty much guarantee that child has been told that before. Whether it had been a parent or another kid... damn. Kids can be so damn harsh. It was more the WAY he said it. So much anger.
No family is perfect. Mine, I know, is far from. But my wish... my goal... my life lesson has become being the BEST example of what a good human being is for my own daughter. Of course I want her to know it is human to be angry, to get angry and sometimes we fail to keep that anger under control. But I want to teach her how to get rid of that anger in a non-violent way. By not screaming and getting mad.
And definatly not by yelling at someone who is trying to help you. I know that I am rambling... I just want you to know that it is not a good idea to carry a speaker. And dont yell. And dont use the word HIT and KILL together in a sentence, forced from your mouth at someone. Jesus.
Cause everything we say as adults, kids listen to. And repeat. OMG the repeating. So far, for us the worst Bubba has repeated in public has been Damnit. And really? At 2 years old, no one knew what she was saying anyways and it sounded cute. Mr. Bubba and I shot each other the You-are-so-dead-for-teaching-her-that-look and quickly made up some word we wanted everyone to think she said.
Oh, Bubba... thats right DOGMAT... did you see a DOGMAT? Cool, huh?!
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Kids these days, I tell you what. It's sad the way that kids talk. If I talked the way they do now, when I was a kid, I would have got my head knocked off my shoulders.
It's nice to see how you are raising Bubba. You're doing a great job!
Oh and thanks for the comment you left about my hair, it was sweet!
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| Posted by
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May 31, 2007 9:01 AM
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| Yeah I posted about this not to long ago on my blog too.
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| Posted by
Denise
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May 31, 2007 9:22 AM
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It really is frightening to think of where those words came from. It hurts my heart to think that a parent could have said it. Even if that particular child learned it from school, the kid that taught it to him had to have heard it somewhere too, which ultimately means some parent said that to their child.
And oh yes, the repeating. My son is quite fond of using the word "idiot" in the car towards other drivers. oopsies.
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| Posted by
Natalie
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May 31, 2007 9:47 AM
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| Excellent cover up. I'll have to remember that one.
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| Posted by
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May 31, 2007 11:58 AM
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This kind of thing makes me really sad. But kids really do repeat pretty much anything and everything they hear. And maybe he heard that on TV or something -- I know my 5-year-old talks about killing and shooting bad guys, because he's really into superhero stuff. But he focuses more on the fighting, the excitement of violence than on any moral lessons or bigger picture.
Violence is a pretty normal thing in our culture, I think. I heard somewhere that by the time kids are 12, they've already seen thousands of murders on TV and movies. It bothers me, and we try to shelter our kids from that stuff but they get it from their friends, neighbors, relatives, books even. It's everywhere.
Man that's depressing. BUT. I laughed out loud at DOGMAT. Haha. Nice save!
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| Posted by
Heidi
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May 31, 2007 12:33 PM
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| I hate the repeating. I'm getting all geared up for my 18 month old to start that. But I have heard the older kids say things and by the time they are 10, it so isn't cute when a swear word pops out of their mouth. It's horrifying. Okay, it's a little bit funny, but still...
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| Posted by
Jolynn
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May 31, 2007 3:09 PM
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