my usual mental model was that dads are stricter with their sons while mummies tend to be stricter with their daughters. until this afternoon.
was doing my laundry this afternoon when i heard a woman shouting... i looked down and there across my unit was this lady and her son in the bedroom. her son was sitting quietly by the window while the lady was pointing and waving furiously as she shouted. she was lecturing her son. and she was so fierce! from her words, i concluded that her son had threw tantrums at her and she had to make sure she put him in his proper place before he climbed over her...
and some of the words and phrases she used were really horrible. she went something like "who are you to throw tantrums at me? you are bloody nothing in this house!", "your daddy and i worked so hard to let you study and here you are, throwing tantrums at me!", "how much do you bring home? nothing! you are nothing! and you dare to throw tantrums at me!", la la la... it went on and on and on non-stop for at least 10 minutes. and all these while, her son sat quietly by the window.
hmmm, i am a strong advocate of disciplining the child when he/ she errs. and i often felt dismayed when i see parents doting on their kids to the extend as to allow them to climb over their heads. you see it in shopping centers, you see it in the heartlands, you see it in the condo, you see it everywhere! so over the past months, whenever i witness the lady scold her son, i would think to myself that this lady ought to be congratulated for doing so, for i strongly believe that when you spare the rod, you spoil the kid. but i couldn't help but feel that this time round, the lady had perhaps gone a little off tangent. putting him down in such a manner can be very damaging to the child's dignity.
anyway, i walked out to the living room after that. moments later, i went back to the kitchen. i saw the son still seated by the window. and in the room, the daddy was mopping the floor quietly. heh heh... i laughed to myself. the sight broke my mental model. it was interesting. all these while, i thought the mummy had always been disciplining the child becos the daddy was not home. but what i saw today told me that well... in this family, perhaps it's the mummy who's wearing the pants!
you go girl!
:-)
was doing my laundry this afternoon when i heard a woman shouting... i looked down and there across my unit was this lady and her son in the bedroom. her son was sitting quietly by the window while the lady was pointing and waving furiously as she shouted. she was lecturing her son. and she was so fierce! from her words, i concluded that her son had threw tantrums at her and she had to make sure she put him in his proper place before he climbed over her...
and some of the words and phrases she used were really horrible. she went something like "who are you to throw tantrums at me? you are bloody nothing in this house!", "your daddy and i worked so hard to let you study and here you are, throwing tantrums at me!", "how much do you bring home? nothing! you are nothing! and you dare to throw tantrums at me!", la la la... it went on and on and on non-stop for at least 10 minutes. and all these while, her son sat quietly by the window.
hmmm, i am a strong advocate of disciplining the child when he/ she errs. and i often felt dismayed when i see parents doting on their kids to the extend as to allow them to climb over their heads. you see it in shopping centers, you see it in the heartlands, you see it in the condo, you see it everywhere! so over the past months, whenever i witness the lady scold her son, i would think to myself that this lady ought to be congratulated for doing so, for i strongly believe that when you spare the rod, you spoil the kid. but i couldn't help but feel that this time round, the lady had perhaps gone a little off tangent. putting him down in such a manner can be very damaging to the child's dignity.
anyway, i walked out to the living room after that. moments later, i went back to the kitchen. i saw the son still seated by the window. and in the room, the daddy was mopping the floor quietly. heh heh... i laughed to myself. the sight broke my mental model. it was interesting. all these while, i thought the mummy had always been disciplining the child becos the daddy was not home. but what i saw today told me that well... in this family, perhaps it's the mummy who's wearing the pants!
you go girl!
:-)
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