Adults

It’s funny how we sometimes place unrealistic expectations on children whilst at the same time, not treating them as people who may go through similar emotions to us at varying points. 

A teacher complains of a boy in her class who is always being distracted from instructions and never on task. The same teacher can be seen sitting in a training session, typing away on her i phone sending texts to friends, or having an unrelated conversation with a colleague. If challenged the teacher could quite justifiably say that the information being given was irrelevant/simple/beyond her/repetitive, yet would never attribute the same logic towards the situation with the child in her class. In that case, it is the child’s problem, as if they cannot share similar, legitimate views or emotions to us.

As parents, we can put our children into situations which, even for adults, would cause stress or uncertainty, and then we can complain that our kid is ‘being really whiny lately!’ Well adult, try this- you are taken away from what you are used to, with absolutely no say in the matter. You lose your old house, and all the things you love, and have no idea where, when and what kind of new house you are moving in to. You are forced to hang around people you don’t know, you sleep in a different place, you get told what to do by people you don’t know all the time and on top of that, you have a horrible cold. Adults would complain, or just sulk (at the very least). A four year old cries, a seven year old may hit someone else. We can be guilty of feeling sorry for the adult, and complaining about the four or seven year old’s behaviour. 

Us Adults, we can be assholes.