My kids can be sweet.
Oh, they can be sweet. They can absolutely charm their grandparents and their teachers and random strangers met at the mall or grocery store. They smile, they chatter and I swear that sometimes they actually bat their eyelashes. (My sons have totally unfair eyelashes for little boys.)
And they can be sweet to their parents, too. Often when they want something.
And they can be sour.
My 7-year-old is going through a phase that I thought would wait for at least another six years. His Moodiness is prone to stomping into his room and slamming the door lately. And then I hear his music player start up. OK, it’s “Sesame Street Platinum” instead of Nirvana, but still ... how totally teenager of him.
My 3-year-old has a temper. He doesn’t like being told “no” (who does?), but instead of sulking, lately it’s met with loud tears, drama and — yes — even foot stomping. We’ve even had one or two of the classic “throw-myself-on-the-floor-and-yell” tantrums, which are either ignored (boy, does that make him mad) or met with exile to his room or the car (with a parent), depending on the location and the company.
It can be trying. It’s been a lesson in patience and in human nature. It’s parenthood.
We’ve found the best way to handle things is a mixture of sympathy (like I said, we all get moody and have a temper from time to time), humor and ... ultimately ... not giving them their desired result.
There’s nothing a 7-year-old who’s trying to impress you with his anger hates more than hearing a parent stifle chuckles at his expense. And there’s nothing a 3-year-old who’s trying to make a scene hates more than being ignored. It tends to end the whole “to-do” that much faster.
Kids are human beings. They get moody. They get angry. And you know what? They’re entitled to be from time to time. We all have to learn to deal with stuff like this.
So sometimes you just let them work it out on their own.
And in the end, you just might wind up with little angels after all.
•••
I’m a big proponent of taking kids to theater shows. Oh, not something like “Les Miserables” right off the bat, but we’ve found that starting them young with correct theater behavior means that as they get older, they’re ready to take on more advanced fare with few problems. (My 7-year-old was my date for “The Lion King” and “Hairspray” this past fall.)
Fortunately, there’s no lack of kid-friendly shows with which to start them off, especially around this time of year.
Today is the last day for Disney on Ice at the First Niagara Center. (The last show is at 1 p.m.) However, “Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Super Heroes” is due to hit Shea’s Performing Arts Center from Feb. 22 to 26. Tickets — which range from $15 to $22 — are available by calling 800-745-3000, at the box office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com.
The Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda just announced “Max and Ruby: Bunny Party” based on the popular TV and book characters, will take place at the theater at 1 and 4 p.m. March 17. Tickets are $20 and $15. For more information, call the box office at 692-2413 or visit www.rivieratheatre.org.
Jill Keppeler is a writer for the Tonawanda News. She can be reached at jill.keppeler@tonawanda-news.com.
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