I guess everyone knows what it’s like to be busy and to be overwhelmed! I am overwhelmed, but things will lighten up this next week (I hope).
In any event I did have time to grab a cup of coffee and a salad at my favorite patio-restaurant last week and had the pleasure of speaking to a young couple. They had a big dog with them; I think he was part lab and part golden. What a good looker he was, and he was as well behaved as he was pretty. He sat quietly by the table and was all but invisible, just like a dog should be when out in public. I complimented the couple and told them I hoped when they have children they will be as good. He told me his dog was only good because they had taken him to a dog training course. “Maybe they will have one for kids by the time we have them,” he added.
I thought that was a good idea, told him I was working on it, and gave him my “Messengers in Denim” card.
Later in the week Mary and I went to a real restaurant and ate on the patio. (In the summer, unless its very hot, I only visit restaurants that have patios). Our meal was delicious and our pleasure was enhanced when a lady and her husband sat at the table next to us and placed their dog, Kudlow, on the chair at their table. He sat quietly in his Sherpa bag and looked longingly at Mary until she was unable to resist going over and talking with him and his pet people. He was really cute and enjoyed our company almost as much as we enjoyed him. His pet lady was a professional piano player and his man did something with computers, but I was not able to comprehend what it was. We exchanged cards and went home having enjoyed another great evening evening.
I was reminded of both these triads a few days later while waiting in line at the Post Office. A young mom was in line ahead of me with her 4 year old son. He was whining and pulling on her arm preventing her from addressing the package she intended to mail. Finally he gave up trying to get her attention with this behavior, walked over to the card rack, and began to inspect the cards. Mom had finished her package preparation and noticed him just as he found a card liked. Mom gently told him to put it back but instead he squeezed it in his hand until it was bent and ruined. Then Mom said, “We’ll have to buy that card for you now.” And she did.
Why is it that so many pets are better behaved than kids? Do we as people think kids are not trainable, or do we think they will just learn what to do and how to act by themselves? Perhaps some parents think by not teaching their kids how to act they are being good to them. Or, maybe they are afraid the kids will not like them, or will lose their self-esteem if parents try to tell them what to do.
I propose that the man in the in the first story above was right; there needs to be a training course for little kids! Parents need to learn how to teach kids how to act. It is one of the best things they can do for the kids, and it’s also part of a parent’s responsibility.
I have been thinking about this problem for a long, long time; and there is so much parents need to do with their young kids. I am planning on offering a fix to this problem in a short book with the working title: “Love Your Kids Enough to Treat Them Like Dogs”. The publisher may want to change the title, so I will keep you informed of our progress. Don’t look for it until some time 2013. If you have questions or comments about training little kids, Let me know!
Afterthought: I know some of you will say “We train dogs, but we teach kids.” Yes, we do, but it’s much easier to teach a child who knows what “sit”, “stay”, “come”, “yes” and “no” mean. And remember when we talk about doctors one of the first we ask is, “Where did you train?” If we can train doctors, we can, and should, train kids.