I had one such experience recently, when I took the 3 little girls to the library. They know the rules for the library--playing and reading quietly, picking up everything and putting it away properly before we leave to go home. They know the expectations for how to behave and look forward to our little library field trips.
Usually, our library is empty when we go, but on this occasion, there were three people having a meeting at one of the tables, so I gave the girls an extra warning to play quietly and be considerate of others, and we all settled in. All three of them were playing just fine. That is, until they decided it was time to go to bed. I never would have guessed that "bedtime" would end up being the game that caused all the trouble. Shiloh came over and curled up on the couch next to me for a good night's sleep, and approximately two minutes later, she burst upright and screamed "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOO!!!!!" at the top of her lungs. The three people in the meeting turned to look at us, and I was open-mouthed in shock. "Shiloh!" I said in a low tone, "Are you supposed to scream in the library?"
"Oh, sorry!" She lay back down, and whispered in a tiny voice: "cock-a-doodle-doooooo....."
At the signal, the other girls woke up and they all continued playing.
All this to say, you know, sometimes, when a kid screams "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" as loud as they possibly can in the library...it's not necessarily true that they haven't been raised right. In kid logic, sometimes you just have to scream "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" in the library. Somewhere along the way, that kind of thinking gets squeezed out of us and we all start doing normal things like reading books in the library. Mortifying as it may be, I can appreciate kid logic. After all, what would we have to laugh about if it weren't for rooster calls in incongruous locations?
Ha! This post made me smile! Thanks for sharing your experience.
When I'm out in public I make my inner judgments based on the *reaction* of the parents and guardians when kids "act out" (although yelling COCK A DOODLE DOO!" but then acknowledging, oops, sorry, she wasn't supposed to do that...is pretty darn innocent and it made me smile). Kids are always learning about boundaries, rules, and what behavior is suitable for what scenario -- if the caretaker in question is dismissive and lets a child run wild and unchecked, that's definitely different than watching a parent appropriately handle outbursts.
Ha ha!
bisous
Suzanne
Oh my, this is actually quite funny! I think it's nice that you bring this up. So often, we can see how a young child acts and shake our heads at how they "must" have been raised, which isn't necessarily the most fair thing to do. Kids are very good at ignoring their parents and upbringing sometimes :P
If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a parent it is that you cannot judge parents by the outbursts of children hahaha!
Ha! So very true. I was the perfect parent before I became a parent. Now, I get it...
Haha! I love this! It's fun hearing stories like this and seeing how their imaginations work :) I can't wait for these moments!
Sometimes, kids will just be kids even with the best guidance you could possibly think of!
HA! That's awesome! Big imaginations. :)
Ha! How funny. I love how kids can do something so innocent that can make us adults just cringe. Sometimes I feel like yelling "Cock-a-doodle-do" in random places, too. But I know that would be heavily frowned upon, and my mother wouldn't be around to take the blame, haha!
-Miranda at Drops of Learning
Hahahaha! I am totally going to use the phrase "kid logic" when I want to something that I know isn't the RIGHT thing to do, but is the most fun thing to do. Can "Cockadoodledoo!!!" become the new #YOLO??
Awn beautiful post and it made me smile. Kids are unpredictable because they are kids!
Oh man, isn't this the truth! What a honest look into motherhood.
That is absolutely hilarious!x
So very, very true. This is exactly why you should always give the parents of a feral kid the benefit of the doubt - it's possible that it's not (completely) their fault.
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