Psychological Warfare For Kids

There is an image that's making the social media rounds that comments on what we should expect from schools as opposed to what we, as parents, should be teaching our kids before they ever leave the house.

Judging by the reactions this image has evoked, it's obviously something that we are very passionate about.  For me, it's crazy to think that kids are even allowed to grow up with amount of disrespect we see every day.  I heard a kid tell his mom to "shut up" in the Wal-Mart off of Airline drive the other day, and I was literally scared for his life.  Based on my life experience, I expected his mom to kill him in the store.  No argument, no begging - just mom shooting lasers from her eyes and a "clean-up on aisle 9" announcement.  Much to my suprise, she just teetered off and mumbled something under her breath.  How did we get here?  As a society, how did we allow kids to yell, scream, demand, and basically rule the roost?  If I had even hinted that my mom was to possibly, just maybe "shut-up,"  I would be ghost-writing this post.

I'm not suggesting that we abuse our kids, but parents have a way of inferring horrible punishments without having to dole them out.  You've seen the "Mom Look" and/or dreaded your dad's return home from work.  I've seen Tracy (my beautiful and scary-on-demand wife) do this to our son, and it works like a charm.  I've seen the look of fear on his face when I come home and the subtle wink from my wife that tells me I am "Very Disappointed."  This kind of psychological conditioning has worked wonders!   Deacon is very respectful (most of the time) and we are all happier for it!  If you're running secret operations to better shape your child's psyche, then I believe you are doing it right!