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Kids Say the Most Annoying Things
Melody Warnick of Parenting.com has written a piece called “6 Most Annoying Things Kids Say.” In it, she recounts the words and phrases kids use that push our buttons and drive us over the edge. But as she points out, the mom who responds to”You’re not the boss of me!” with “Wanna bet?” isn’t really making things easier for herself. Not only is she not teaching her child to express herself in a courteous way, she’s lowering herself to her level and getting into a verbal sparring match in which nobody wins.
A better response, Warnick says, is one that connects to the feelings behind the words rather than the words themselves. In this case, the child feels like she has no control and by giving her choices rather than orders, she is more likely to respond positively.
That’s good advice and I’ll try to remember that if my own kid ever pulls that one me. But I don’t think she will because at the age of nine, she’s pretty much got her repertoire of annoying sayings down pat and that one doesn’t make the list.
Her thing is “Just a second,” uttered whenever she’s told to start or stop doing something. I say, “Turn off the television” and she says, “Just a second.” By this point, I don’t think she’s even listening to what I say before she gives that response. I could tell her to get in the car to go get ice cream and pick out a new puppy and she’d say “Just a second.”
My colleagues here at Strollerderby also have kids who say annoying things that didn’t make Warnick’s list. There’s the ever-popular “I’m bored,” which is usually said immediately after doing something really fun. And “So and so’s mom let’s him…(fill in the blank).” And the handy “I was just…” followed by a ridiculous explanation along the lines of “I was just waving my arms, not hitting my sister.”
Warnick’s piece is actually full of reasonable advice and well worth a read. But I’ll bet you’ve also got a gem or two of your own that didn’t make the list. Misery loves company, so feel free to share in the comments.
Image: James Jordan/Flickr
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[...] Kids Say the Most Annoying Things [...]
Battling Mean Girl Culture Through Empowerment. | Strollerderby commented on Aug 16 10 at 3:22 pmSamantha commented on Aug 19 10 at 1:56 amWhen our 9 year old went through the “It’s not fair! I want it!” phase, my husband and I would start singing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” after hearing about another friend’s father who did that. It got to the point where we could just start with the first word and he’d take back whatever he said.
I told him a few times that wow, it does really suck not to get what you want. I wanted a kid who didn’t whinge when told no, nicely, several times about how unfair life was. Not a finer moment, but also effect.
Marissa commented on Sep 22 10 at 1:22 amMy boyfriend has a 9 year old son and he is just so rude and acts like a baby. when we are out and if someone has something on that he doesnt like or if someone talks different or looks a certin way he will point at them and ask so loud “why does that person look like that” or “why does that person sound like that”, and the worst thing is that my boyfrind laughs and then tells him to nt say things like that. And the kids mother is no better. Its to the point where i dont want to be out in public with him. We also have an 8 month old son who is starting to walk and talk. and my boyfriends son is always telling him to shut up and ill yell at him and tell him not to talk to him like that because thats not nice to say but ne never listens to me. he doesnt listen to anyone. he is so rude and disrespectful i dont know what to do.
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