The talk-back button

“You are the meanest”
“No other mother will think of saying no to their kids”.
“I hate you.”

And then there is this.

“Mom, you’re the best!”
“Mom, love you infinity!”
“Mom, you rock!”

Now I can't imagine saying any of the above to my mother when I was growing up. If I had ever tried the first lot, I would have been given a tidy bollocking that would have been hard to forget.

I have often heard my peers say – “We didn’t dare talk to our parents like this. We just knew where to draw the line”. Hmmm...interesting. So what are we feeding these sods that they seem to be losing their grip over what they say.

And it's not all bad as you can see. Even the compliments are in a league of their own. Of course, partly a lot of this comes from what they’re watching on TV, at least I know that’s where, “You rock” comes from!

That’s not the part that really worries me. What worries me is that they seem to be expressing themselves in rather extreme ways. It also seems to reflect the way a lot of them are in their day-to-day lives.

I have heard kids saying – “I am feeling low”. We were well into adulthood by the time we uttered such stuff.

What’s worrying is that if this is what these kids are actually feeling, then its time we parents pause and think why they are saying this. I don’t think ignoring their feelings is a good idea at all.

Legitimising their feelings is the first step. Then figuring out where its coming from is the next thing.
It’s also a good idea to see if these utterances are part of a passing phase or something that’s deeper.

When you suddenly hear your little tod saying, “ Mom, it’s all your fault”, and you haven’t the faintest idea where that’s coming from, you can either show your anger at this unfair assessment, or just choose to ignore it.

Ignore it, knowing that the child will sooner or later come to his senses and realise how unfair his outburst was.

Frankly, I won’t say I know what the best way out is – to speak up or ignore. It's one of those things that you will just have to follow your gut. Any ideas?