Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bossy Neighbors

Having children apparently gives eveyone free reign to pass on any and all words of child-rearing wisdom gained over the centuries.  If you have kids, you know what I mean!

We get advice spanning not only the ages, but also cultures as well.  Anything from sanitizing the world to the dangers of 2 year old thumb sucking.

However, the pinnacle, the most amazing, the greatest piece of advice came from a neighbor sharing a ride down the lift (oh, I mean elevator).  A fatherly-looking gentlemen flashed Aaron and I (Betsy) a huge smile as we entered and guessed that Aaron was about 1 year old.  I kindly corrected him that actually Aaron is 2 years old.  He got a very thoughtful expression on his face and replied, "Oh, he is much to short for 2.  You must make him grow more!"

Well, what could I do?  I smiled and said a sweet, "Thank you."  All the time thinking, "Huh???  Is this guy for real????  OK!"

Yeah, gotta love all the very free, helpful advice from everyone!

4 comments:

Christi said...

Good Job! You are now on the path to mastering the grin and ignore technique. I'm surprised that he was criticizing Aaron's size. I would think that Aaron would be taller than the other kids if not similar in size. Thankfully, I can't even remember the advice that I've received (and I tried)

Anonymous said...

Yikes, I am realizing that many cultures think they can give advice! So it's not just Austria and China.
Danny and Betsy, I will be in Singapore Oct 13-16 and would love the chance to meet you in person. Maybe we can set up a time to chat.
I will be at school most days, but we could make some plans for an afternoon??

Beth Twist said...

You mean you don't know...no one ever taught you...I can't believe you've never heard of that magic potion you feed your kids to make them grow. You can actually custom-size your child, all you need is...

Oh, whoops, I can't find that darn recipe for the life of me!

:)

Danny said...

Anonymous, would be a possibility, but I don't know who you are or how to contact you!