parenting 101

you will think, that after 38 years of life on this planet, that i know at least a little something about human relations and all its complexities.

little batman came back from school, all grimy and darker than his usual milk coffee-colour appearance, as normal. after taking his lunch, and a little tv of course, i sent him off to have his shower. he resisted. i appealed, he rejected. i cajoled, he ignored. daddy used his angry voice, he whined. but still he refused. i explained to him, what with all the present h1n1 going around, he'll be more susceptible, showed him where his hands are simply filthy. he stood his ground.

sigh.

tried sweet, tried bitter, tried reasoning. nothing worked.

so, i left him to be. what else can i do? what's the worst that can happen, right? some diarrhoea, catching some virus (if there was, he would have caught it long before anyway). so, what the heck. not worth me getting all sussed up.

back infront of his tv he went, his favourite place in the whole house. i went back to my work. after a few minutes, the tv went dead. the house was quiet. if you have a little one in your house, you know that's when you are suppose to get worried. but i know, even before i stuck my head into the room, that he has gone for a shower. suddenly. out of the blue. don't know what was going through his mind then.

boys. how do you figure them out? i thought it was the girls that are temperamental. would seem that even little boy has a little attitude, a little hard at figuring out. parenting. the hardest job in the world. hardest at knowing when to hold on tight, when to let go, when to insist, when to resist, when to let them be, when to enforce. but we learn as we go along.