Guten Tag, y’all!
Well guys, I’ve done it again. I’ve logged another entry in my Bad Mommy Files. The Bad Mommy Files? Oh it’s a real thing. If you’ve got a kid, you know what I’m talking about–that mental catalogue you keep of all maternal related screw ups, horrifying moments and other parenting #fails. I’ve already told y’all the price I paid for saying “shut up” in front of the Babycakes. This time… well, let me just present the facts.
Exhibit A: Hi-yah!
Kung Fu Panda is one of the Babycakes’ favorite movies. He’s watched it so often that the karate call “Hi-yah!” has become a verb in our house. As in “Don’t hi-yah kids on the playground. It’s not nice.”
Practicing his Kung Fu.
Exhibit B: “Gretel”
There’s a little girl in Babycakes’ Kindergarten class. Let’s call her Gretel. Gretel is a nice enough little girl, but she has no boundaries. She likes to hug the Babycakes, despite the fact that he is usually yelling out “No” and “Stop.” Yes, I’ve had to yell at talk firmly to her.
Exhibit C: First, say STOP!
Even though the mom in me wants to scare this child into keeping her hands to herself, I don’t believe in fighting my child’s battles for him. So I decided to have a discussion with him so that he’d know how to deal with Gretel. “Here’s what to do,” I said. “First, say ‘STOP!’ If she doesn’t stop, then next thing to do istell your teacher. And if she still doesn’t stop after that, you can hi-yah her.” That last part was a joke. But what happned next…
His eyes sparkled when I told him he could hi-yah someone.
Exhibit D: The Sparkle
Why oh why did I forget that hi-yah was the magic word? When I joked that he could Kung Fu this child, the Babycakes’ eyes lit up. They sparkled. “Mommy, I hi-yah Gretel?” “NO! No no no no noooo!” It took WEEKS for me to stop worrying that he would go all Dragon Warrior on Gretel. Thankfully, the message got through.
After I told him that No, he actually wasn’t allowed to hi-yah his classmate.
The Verdict:
Don’t joke about Kung Fu with your child. It’s just not worth it.
The Babycakes finally got the message–or did he?
I was SO worried that he’d “Hi-yahed” Gretel. Whew! I’m with you on not fighting the kids’ battles for them. They have to learn to handle these things on their own. And the thing I love about this age, everything is just a phase. The forced hugging will probably be over soon.
The look on his face is priceless!
LOL! Yes it is!
And thank you for all of your sweet comments on here. They’ve made my day quite a few times!
Aw, at my comments making your day! I love reading your blog posts and actually found it through another travel blog. So I decided to stick around ((and actually subscribe). Through reading your blog, I found out that you graduated from the University of Alabama (I transferred there and graduated in Dec. 2005) and I can relate to some of your posts as I am currently in Spain (only for a few more months).
Ok–SMALL world! I graduated in Dec. 05, too! What was your major, and how are you enjoying Spain?
I majored in English Lit (minored in Political Science). I like it here though I’ve had many challenges. I am in a small town and while it’s charming (there’s a beach too), sometimes I feel as if I’m “so over it.”
I can relate to that! Do you read Littlefoot’s Journey? It’s about expat life in Barcelona. And do YOU have a blog?
Hi, Tatiana. I will have to read Littlefoot’s journey. I decided not to blog about my experience. I bought a personal journal with me and have yet to write anything. I suck, I know! Lol. At least I have some pictures and the memories stored in my brain, lol.
That is hilarious! I know what you mean. It’s so hard to try and teach them when it’s appropriate but when people just won’t stop…Hi- Yah!