The tail wagging the dog

One of the snarky habits [Wifey] and I enjoy is to hear stories about parents who are having their lives run by their kids. She'll tell me a story of woe. I'll respond, "You have GOT to be kidding!" and then we'll roll our eyes and have a snarky laugh. We may throw the word, "LOSER" in every once-in-a-while.

I think what really gets our attention is that, sometimes, we run into parents of toddlers and we'll be talking and exchanging notes. Then, we'll mention that [the Girl] goes to sleep sometime between 7:00 and 7:30 each night. The parents we talk to will suddenly stop, their mouths will drop, and ask us how in the world we "do it". We always look confused. What do you mean "do it?" They then confess that their child throws a hissy fit and won't go to sleep until 10:00 or 10:30 and thus they are exhausted the next morning as they haven't had time to unwind from work. In fact, they have been playing or dealing with said child since they've gotten back from work, so they are doubly tired.

Now, some of you are reading this and saying, "Well, that snarky Johnny, he doesn't know my kid, why I oughtta give him a piece of my mind!"

First, let me say that I know some kids are wired differently. Their body clocks are set late or early. So, chill. This was just, as they say "an exemplary" case.

Second, haven't you seen this played out on "Super Nanny"? Haven't you shook your heads and wondered how those parents can be so overwhelmed by their kids?*

Third, you have to admit there are some cases where it's easier to give up than fight the battle with your kid. Having said it before....if I can become the alpha dog to 4 dogs, I got the "we're doing it daddy's way" thing worked out. It's our way....or our way little baby girl. (hey, there are people you know who get bossed around by their DOGS).

Finally, I'm a hardass. So you think I'm going to let a 2 year old dictate to me when they go to sleep? I don't think so.

Sadly, we do constant comparisions between [Wifey] and a co-worker at her work who...ummm, sometimes I wonder about her right to parent. Ooops, a bit of snark there. This woman is all bluster. She loves to mount her soapbox and use the mental bullhorn and just lecture and lecture and lecture people. But, in her own personal life with her and her partner (yes she is gay), she doesn't quite apply her "theories" that she blasts at people, to her own life.

She and her partner each have a child through artificial means, of course. But, it's just mind boggling to find two women, each with a bio child and their maturity level is that of 23 or 24 year olds who still gripe about "what's fair" and "it's her turn" and "she gets all the fun". Geez. These women are in their mid-forties! (where was their home study before they were allowed to conceive?)

Okay, hold on......... I support gay couples adopting or having kids.

What I don't support is immature people adopting or having kids.

[Honestly, the (second) partner got pregnant because she was so jealous of the first partner having all the attention and focus because she carried the first child! Then after having the second child, she whined that she didn't have free time anymore. ARGH!!!]

This co-worker is a bad example, but she's also the reason that [Wifey] thinks all bloggers are self-indulgent whiners. Yup, she assumes that if I'm typing into a blog, I must be whining about myself in my blog. Boo-hoo-hoo.

I think what just grates us is that this woman always dispenses all this child rearing advice (to us): Oh, you're going to need this type of bottle. Oh, you shouldn't feed them this type of food. Oh, you should.....Oh, you shouldn't......before and after we got [the Girl]. You know those types, know-it-alls.

Then, a few months later, she is describing some frustrating incident with her son. And my wife asks, "And the time-outs don't work?" The woman is very quiet for a while and then admits that they've never tried "time-outs" with their (now) 3 year old. They were too scared to do it and now it's too late.

Sigh.

*I've always wondered if bad behavior were that easy to correct, then why wait for a stranger to shame you into do it? Then again, I wonder if I would be shocked to have a third party come into my house and tell me all the "right" things I thought I was doing was wrong?