Lessons on parenting
Last night my wife and I were at the Cardinals - Cubs game in St. Louis. As expected, it was a long, intense game with many ups and downs, and for Cards fans, a sad ending.
Anyway, there were two families near us, one with four boys, ages 6ish-13ish, and the other just one son who was around 6-7.
The larger family was not disfunctional, but quite unruly and annoying. The kids cursed loudly, made rude comments throughout the entire game, yelled the whole time, encroached upon other people's seats, and were all around brats.
Each time one of the boys made a rude comment, if it was "funny" enough their dad encouraged them in their behavior. He would say, 'good one'. We experienced this from 6:45-11:15pm, which made for a less than enjoyable environment, even though we had excellent seats.
The smaller family was different. The dad was teaching his son about baseball. He was guiding him through a scorecard and explaining everything to him in a calm manner. The boy was well behaved and seemed to be interested in the goings on of the evening. I smiled as I saw them together, thinking that would be an activity I would love to do with one of my children whenever we have them. (I'll have to learn how to score a game myself first, but at least my wife knows how!)
So, what did I learn from these two families?
Well, (my dad will appreciate this) I see the need for discipline and order. I do not mean so rigid in a way that children are drones, or robots, but rather so they act in a respectible manner.
I also see that people make assumptions on families based upon how they act.
The noisy family gave me the impression of a household in which the children run the show and the parents are "friends" who give them money and what they want. There is no control and the parents do not lead in a way that commands respect, and their family is not one worth spending time with socially because of the way everyone behaves.
The quieter family gave an impression of a well ordered house where God intended roles are respected.
Now, these were only impressions I received from the two families. For all I know the 2nd family could be disfunctional, God haters, or anything, but it was the impression they gave. And who knows, maybe the loud, annoying family attends a church and outside Busch stadium they act more organized. I do not know.
What I do know is that people make assumptions and judgements based upon the way families interact in public. This may not be completely fair, but that's what happens.
I know this post makes little sense and doesn't go anywhere. I have no real point....but I do think that I learned something.
Anyway, there were two families near us, one with four boys, ages 6ish-13ish, and the other just one son who was around 6-7.
The larger family was not disfunctional, but quite unruly and annoying. The kids cursed loudly, made rude comments throughout the entire game, yelled the whole time, encroached upon other people's seats, and were all around brats.
Each time one of the boys made a rude comment, if it was "funny" enough their dad encouraged them in their behavior. He would say, 'good one'. We experienced this from 6:45-11:15pm, which made for a less than enjoyable environment, even though we had excellent seats.
The smaller family was different. The dad was teaching his son about baseball. He was guiding him through a scorecard and explaining everything to him in a calm manner. The boy was well behaved and seemed to be interested in the goings on of the evening. I smiled as I saw them together, thinking that would be an activity I would love to do with one of my children whenever we have them. (I'll have to learn how to score a game myself first, but at least my wife knows how!)
So, what did I learn from these two families?
Well, (my dad will appreciate this) I see the need for discipline and order. I do not mean so rigid in a way that children are drones, or robots, but rather so they act in a respectible manner.
I also see that people make assumptions on families based upon how they act.
The noisy family gave me the impression of a household in which the children run the show and the parents are "friends" who give them money and what they want. There is no control and the parents do not lead in a way that commands respect, and their family is not one worth spending time with socially because of the way everyone behaves.
The quieter family gave an impression of a well ordered house where God intended roles are respected.
Now, these were only impressions I received from the two families. For all I know the 2nd family could be disfunctional, God haters, or anything, but it was the impression they gave. And who knows, maybe the loud, annoying family attends a church and outside Busch stadium they act more organized. I do not know.
What I do know is that people make assumptions and judgements based upon the way families interact in public. This may not be completely fair, but that's what happens.
I know this post makes little sense and doesn't go anywhere. I have no real point....but I do think that I learned something.
posted by Bobby's blog at 9:53 AM
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