Follow up to Happy Ballet Day (Feb. 7) and other things

photo by Crystal and comp

First of all, this is one of those across the board comments.  I do apologize for not responding to all of your comments.  They are so kind and sweet.  I am so glad that everyone appreciates the art of dance and know what they can or cannot do.  

I just want to let you know that ballet was not the only dance form I took as a child.   I also took Jazz and Tap.   Jazz allowed me to get off of the pointe shoes, and with tap, hey, I like making noise, LOL.  If you think I was finished, I also took piano and organ lessons as well. Toss in a few Girl Scout and youth meetings, school choirs, and I was a busy girl.  I did not have the time to get bored and do nothing.  I also had chores to do.

If you guessed today’s post, then yes, it is all about keeping your children busy.   I am just going to say it right now, folks. For the most part, today’s children are lazy and rude.  No respect for people, rather they are their friends, family, or the lady sitting 5 pews from the pastor.   You ask them to do something, and they give you 15 “excuse me, are you talking to me, I hope you are not, because I will cut you” looks.  It does not have to be that way.  Here is the reason why.

I think sometimes we as adults have forgotten what it was like to be a child or a teen.  They get frustrated, and they do not know what the protocol is for many situations.  It is hard to keep up.   I could remember as a child, that anyone over the age of 20 was called Mr. or Ms. first name or last name would be preferred.   An adult has to give you permission to speak.  In fact, it is preferred that you were not in the room during “grown folks” talk.  Chores were done, music and dance lessons were practiced, homework was done, and family prayer time was done, all before play and television.  I did not have a television in my bedroom until I moved into the condo I live in now, and only because my father thought that I needed a bigger TV for when he and my mom came over.  The old analog set is in the bedroom.  another rule was I needed to be in before the street lights came on, or I was in for a rude awakening.  Finally, I did not get to watch television or go out to play if they had to tell me more than once to do my chores, get my homework, practice, acted out in public, or got into trouble in school, such as a bad grade or was sent to the principal’s office.  This was a one or two-week thing, depending on how severe it was.

Because of all the rules in my parent’s house, I dared not disobey them, but my parents loved me despite of.  I got swatted once, for breaking my brother’s baseball trophy, and still missed Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital, because I was not allowed to watch.  I was on punishment for it. (Made that up when GH had their 50^th anniversary on the Soap channel a few months ago). I got mad at him and threw down the trophy.  So it was no accidental feat, I wanted to.  In the 8^th grade, I hit a girl with my purse in school, because I thought that she and another girl was talking about me.  I talked my way out of the suspension to one day, but to my father, it was not the end of the story.  Two weeks, no television, and the only time I got to go outside was if we were going somewhere. I missed two episodes of The Bionic Woman that I really wanted to see (made that up by watching them on the Syfy channel years later).  

The point I am making is today’s kids have it made with all of their phones, iPads, game stations and such, or do they?  Parents have to learn when to say no to a child who wants a Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube account.  There has to be a limit somewhere, and this is coming from a person who is just an aunt.  I feel like I am more than just an aunt, because I see how my nephews and niece operate.  They are 18, 6, 5, and 3, and they all have different personalities.  When they raise their voice or do not listen to me, I let them know that it is wrong of them to do it.  I have not swatted anyone but once.  Nephew, who is now 18, was climbing on my grandmother’s couch.  Both I and my mom told him to stop, but apparently it did not set well with him, and I swatted him with my hand.  He had on a diaper, and told me that it did not hurt, so I sat him in time-out.  He was mad at that point, but he had to learn not to climb.

I will be coming to a close by saying something that I say in my Happy Ballet Day post:  you have to know your child.  Do not just throw your child in an activity and expect them to fall madly in love with it right away.  Rec centers are wonderful for that, and many of the people who commented

have said that they do utilize the rec centers as a tryout tool for a dance, music or sport activity.  These activities in a normal setting are expensive, and there are some inexpensive things you can do with your child as well:

• Free museum day
• Run in the park
• Teach them what you know, but put it to their level.
• Take a bus ride if you are always driving.  This is great for them to learn the city and it saves on gas too.
• Go on a walk
• See if there are any child-friendly tours in the city (behind the scenes)
• Interactive stuff
• Blowing bubbles with dish soap and a common object.
• See if the local dance, music, or art company will allow your child to visit for a couple of hours,

These are only a few things that you can do with your child.  Have fun, and do not be hard with them.  When you do, do it out of love and tell them that it only helps them to be a better person and show respect for one another.   Be blessed.