Unprofessional Parenting

Somehow my son has yet to learn what a negative direction is.  Or maybe he just ignores them - it’s tough to tell. The other day he picked up a little decoration my mom had on a shelf in her house. She told him he could play with it as long as he didn’t drop it.  For emphasis she repeated herself, “Don’t drop the cow, okay?” He responded politely “Okay” and he began to toddle away.

I asked her quickly if it was a good idea for him to have the small breakable animal and she said of course  (she told him not to drop it after all).  As he made his way through the kitchen he turned back to us and holding the cow up over his head said “Drop cow, okay.” Luckily we got to him just before he did but it was an interesting case of selective hearing.

I’ve noticed a pattern since then. Every time I ask him not to do something he repeats the order but leaves out the negative.  “Honey, don’t hit the window please” becomes “hit window, okay.” At first I thought it was just a kid thing - either he hasn’t learned the negatives yet or he’s being a little stubborn.  Then I realized it must be hereditary.

After all, I seem to have the exact some problem with my husband.

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