Disciplining Things I’m Proud Of…
26 04 2008
Today while my wife and I were eating breakfast I heard the jingling sound of my keys. Seeing as how my 3.5 month old daughter was sleeping, not to mention incapable of doing any other physical activity outside of rolling over and throwing up on her and anyone within range, I naturally rounded up the usual suspects–my son. He’s 18 months old and is starting to really figure out how to get into things.As I went to scold him for getting my keys (again) my wife noticed that he had gone into his bedroom, carried his booster step down the hall, put it in front of the console table where we keep our keys, and used it to get them. This is my biggest weakness as a dad. I have to work hard on keeping a straight face in these moments–I’m a terrible poker player. I had to make sure we reinforced that what he had done was wrong, however, I was extremely proud of the little bugger for putting that much ingenuity into it. I did the only thing I could think of: put on a grumpy face, snapped a quick picture to commemorate the achievement, take the keys away and sternly tell him not to play with them.
This has happened a few times where I am quite pleased with him for something that I must discipline him for. When he pulled one of my guitars down the hallway and insisted I play it I was moved–and mad. I still gave him the concert he asked for which probably did more harm than good, but hey, I’m only human and I have an ego that doesn’t want to disappoint my fans!
The point of this story is that I’m still figuring this dad stuff out and by the time I get the hang of it I’ll probably be writing a check for college. I know some other newer dads that worry a bit because they’re not sure how they are supposed to handle every situation. The key is to acknowledge the areas you’re weak as a parent and work at improving them a little more each day. There’s no such thing as a perfect parent We all make mistakes. For me, I know I have to work on concealing what I’m thinking. Sure, when my son pushes a giant trampoline up to the side of the house and jumps off the roof I’m going to want to applaud his moxy and show him that he should pull out a tad to allow for a running start. But, instead I’m going to have to be his dad for that moment and not his buddy.
Fortunately I have some time to improve before those days and when that time comes I’ll be ready because I have taken the time to evaluate myself and know my weaknesses. We cannot be too prideful to admit areas of difficulty or else we’ll raise prideful little know-it-alls who can do no wrong to enhance the blameshift mentality that is so prevalent in our nation. Think about it, really be honest with yourself, and look at what you can do to grow as a dad. If you need help, ask your wife. I’ll bet she has a running list going for you! Our children are worth a little self-improvement.
He probably knows that the keys starts the car. Maybe he is letting you know that he wants to go for a ride, or maybe that he is ready for his first driving lesson. At any rate, he knows that the keys are something that Daddy uses a lot and just wants to emulate his Dad. Or he could be looking to stick them in a plug-in.
I keep my jump drive on them and he loves taking the cap on and off. I have a hard enough time keeping track of where I leave them, let alone where he leaves them.