Overheard.

As I was sitting in my car with the windows down at soccer practice tonight (after the previously mentioned ‘fails’ [see below post]), I overheard another mom on the phone…

“…okay, I’ll talk to her if you need me to… {firm, almost yelling voice}… QUIT giving your daddy a hard time! Get upstairs and do what he says. If you sass him again, I’ll tear your butt up when I get home… (pause)… well, Madeline is not your parent… daddy and I are the parents… well, that’s why WE are the parents and YOU are the child… okay, well after you get washed up, you can ask daddy for something to eat and tell him mommy said it was okay…”

Wow!

I cannot IMAGINE Andrew calling ME to deal with the kids because they weren’t listening to him when I wasn’t there.  Or him waiting until I got home to discipline them because he was somehow incapable.  The only excuse I can come up with that makes this woman’s conversation okay in any way, shape, or form is if “daddy” is paralyzed in a wheelchair and truly cannot deal with the kids himself.  If that’s not the case?  This is one dysfunctional home.  I’m just saying.

  1. Matthew’s avatar

    Haha! Yeah, I couldn’t imagine calling anyone about that…

  2. Grace’s avatar

    I totally agree, that’s sad but maybe there are some things about the situation we don’t know.

  3. Jackie’s avatar

    Yikes!! That doesn’t sound good. But I agree wiht Grace… there may be more to this story than what you heard. But I want to know… who’s Madaline?? :)

    And every family is different. Maybe in this family it’s the mom who does all the disciplining. If it works for their family, why not? It used to be that the Dads would all do it all… times are changing. :)

  4. Petra’s avatar

    I definitely don’t know the whole story – I never saw the woman before in my life (her kid plays on a different soccer team than Jarvis, they just happened to be practicing on the same field this time). She did strike me as the authoritative controlling type though, after I saw her dealing with her kid who was at the soccer field.

    Haha! I have no idea who Madeline is!! A sibling perhaps?? lol!

    I know there’s been some definite role reversal in families these days. Can’t say I agree with it all though. Of course, that’s because I believe in the biblical principle that the husband/dad is to be the head of the household. Andrew and I both share in the disciplining. But whichever one of us is taking care of the kids is the one who takes care of the discipline (and “tear your butt up” is never a phrase I would use – ;) ).

    I just don’t care for it when a dad can’t control his kids… I mean, be a man, ya know?!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: