Article Contributed on: 6/29/2007 11:39:26 PM
I honestly don't mean to complain about the females in my life - namely The Wif, "M" and the cat, and fortunately I have yesterday's bit of Wif Praise to lean on right now - but two of the more difficult lessons of the teenage years are already rearing their ugly heads. And they're both centered around "M."
Again - don't misunderstand what I'm saying here; just because I'm highlighting one (or rather, two) of "M's" issues doesn't mean that D-Man or The Binkster are free from entanglements. Not by a long shot. And one day soon I'll prove it by pointing out how much a spoiled, headstrong turkey our youngest is becoming.
The photos lie, my friends. The photos lie...
The most prominent issue in my daughter is also the least likely to find a resolution: she is all too eager to be the "little mother" to her brothers. She wants to help us guide and correct them and is all too eager to jump in where she thinks there's a gap of roughly her size.
I can't blame her for that - women, even 5 and a half year old women - are by nature very nurturing. All of the world is made up of little dollies that all require attention and nobody is more suited to see to their needs.
Like I said, I can't blame her for it, but I can sure try to fix her of it.
The other issue we face with her is the fact that she's all too eager to join the crowd. That is, if she sees one of her brothers doing something, or acting in a particular way, she thinks it grand fun to duplicate that exact deed, even though it might not be the case that the behavior of a 1 year old boy is appropriate for a 5 year old girl.
We generally stop such activities and remind her that she's in a different place/age/sex/situation/mindset - or should be - of those originating the behavior, so she should have nothing to do with it. It's generally a pretty brusque rebuke, and it's meant to be.
It may seem hard-hearted at this point, but the only image I see is my soon-to-be teenage daughter eagerly acting out the behaviors she witnesses among her friends.
And that scares the life out of me...
Chris Stone is a slightly different - hopefully better - Father and man than he was yesterday...