NEVER say OK!

Friday, July 20, 2012

You have to really be paying attention before you give a blanket permission of anything with the word, 'ok'. Especially to small children...

Quite awhile ago I was sitting outside the church sanctuary with my unruly adorable little one when a cute little toddler came up and started chattering away at me. I would say we had a conversation, but have you ever chatted with a toddler? There is no conversation. It's all about our world but in a way that we no longer understand. They are so cute!

At any rate, I was nodding, smiling and giving my standard responses of, "really", "you don't say!" or "now that's really something". The mom soon located her wandering little one and came over to apologize for the interruption. I explained that I have four of my own and it was not a problem. She asked me about my little ones and we started a polite conversation. Soon her toddler was babbling away at her and I heard her say, 'ok'. And the chase began! That poor girl was trying to contain that little guy but it just didn't work. I am pretty sure he was asking permission for something because of his pointing at the time that his mom agreed with him. She had not totally paid attention to her little man and was just trying to keep him happy. (I've been there and done that!) And she said.... ok... without knowing what she agreed too.

After awhile she ended up over near us again because her little guy was interested in the toys I had for my little one and in a joking manner I said, 'you agreed to something you didn't understand didn't you?' She gave me a funny look so I explained how I don't say ok to my little one's until I have more details about what they are talking about. I told her about a few times I said ok to my first born and what a mess it got me into. She started laughing and totally understood where I was coming from.

I think this might apply to more than just toddlers though, don't you?
Gotta pay attention to those kids of mine and get the details before I say, 'ok'!



1 comments:

Anonymous said...

My kids are really good about knowing when I am distracted enough to just agree & then asking for something they KNOW they can't do.

About a month ago, I caught my 6yo watching for that perfect moment to ask Dad something. Sure enough, he's in a detailed discussion on the phone, and she asks if she can ride her bike to the school by herself. In his distracted state, he mummbled, "Sure." Luckily, I caught her before we disappeared, and we were able to have a discussion about needing to have a real conversation before she ever leaves the house, not just a head-nod or a single-word response.

So no, it's not just toddlers you have to be aware of, but the toddlers don't understand the difference between and OK & a full discussion.

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