One of my friends, childless herself, likes to claim that fostering manners in children is basically a lost art. I engage in the conversation as though I could address the topic with perfect indifference. Which, of course, I can't.
After reading an article by pediatrician Perri Klass on the subject of raising children who are gracious and polite, I recalled a fairly few recent instance at the doctors where one of mine had a meltdown when the doctor said that "they" (to protect the guilty) would have to get a shot.
Even our pediatrician, a cheerful, down-to-earth and motherly woman who has known the kids since they were babies, started to sound strained in the face of tears and fear and general tantrum.
Was this child's poor self-control my parental responsibility? Did fear (face it, who likes getting a shot?) outweigh years of education in appropriate social behavior? Or is learning that the world doesn't revolve around oneself an ongoing part of maturation?
I tend to think the latter. But I'm always aware of my shortcomings in this regard -- and waiting for an expert like Dr. Klass to draw it to my attention.
I guess I shouldn't give up on training the cats, either.
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