Validation for Ignoring My Kid

Harrigan sends me an article which he says is, "right up your alley".

He's right. I live for this kind of stuff. It's where I find my soapbox.

I love talking about entitled behavior, entitled adults and spoiled and indulged children. I'm righteous ... but to a point. As we all know, I am Tiger cub mom. Not a true Tiger Mom. I'm soft and squishy around the middle since The Kid came out and I will never have visible abdominal muscles.

They are lurking there somewhere underneath. I'm just not as tough as I would like to be.

I'm angry sometimes. I'm tough without rationale at times. These are all hypocritical and a waste of time and do not deserve any validation in parenting, except for the fact it's bound to happen. However I use them as parenting tools probably more than I mean to, more than anyone should.

Anyhow, I say all this stuff to him how he needs to do more, and he has to prepare more as he grows up. But it was all just words to him.

I hate the idea of talking and explaining things that in my opinion should be expected of you. You live in a house, this house is shared space, do your part and clean up. Starting block, would be, take care of your own crap first.

I don't mind getting him water when he's thirsty ... if I'm closer. But it shouldn't be expected that I'm going to do it, because you asked me to do it. You should try to do things yourself. Sometimes one try isn't good enough. If you can't reach, what can you do to reach it? Pull over a chair? What? If someone thinks for you all the time, you don't think for yourself. If someone does for you, you don't do.

We are rational this week. I know when he gets something and he gets away with something it's because I'm being lazy. I am a lazy beast. I am.

I think the starting point is letting kids find something to do on their own. If you're bored, find something. My mother used to say, "Only boring people get bored." She said it a lot when I was growing up. 

I think he reads because we ignore him. (Well we're reading or knitting when we are ignoring him at least right?) Seriously if I can't expect him to find something to do on his own for fun, how I can I expect him to pick up his clothes or make dinner?