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01 December 2010

Kids Factor

Days of terrible black Bora are forcing us to stay locked inside our safe and warm house. We all love to be homebodies in this family, no big deal. I should be out there shooting at the pier, I've been wanting to take pics of this infame wind for years now. I still miss that courage.

I prefer remaining indoor in the comfort of our cozy apartment, eating panettone, watching old movies and enjoying our Christmas decorations. Life is good!


On Monday we had Ali's best friend (or whom is her temporary best peer) over for the day, since her mother had to take her younger kid to a hospital visit. She asked me why we don't have a TV in the kitchen and had problems accepting our point of view.

"So what do you do?," she fired.
"We eat, darling!" was my serene reply.
"And we talk. Don't you?", continued Miss Alice at my place, chewing another bite of the pasta cooked in her friend's honour, since zuchini and tuna are this little different girl's favorites. A concession that I had to negotiate with my baby before.
"Hum, eating is boring, I need a TV on. Can't you put a TV on?"
"Why don't we tell tales instead?," I suggested.
"Tales?"
"Yeah, a story!" Alice encouraged. "Actually I could tell one, can I , Mom?" continued my little girl, her eyes shining with excitement.
"All right, you go first then," I agreed, trying to ignore Gabry's despair.

And so Alice told her friend the story of the Afghan girl whose nose and ears were cut off by her abusive husband, and who got a new face in America. To keep up with martyrdom, I told the story of Saint Lucy, the woman who was denounced as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse, Sicily, during Christian prosecution, because she refused to marry him as she had consecrated her virginity to God, and whose eyes were took out with a fork. 

When it was Gabri's turn, she didn't know what to tell but still she was able to put up a story of her own, a mix between the two tortures. I encouraged them to tell a story they both knew, to distract them, but it only made them argue. There were some passages that were controversial and each of them thought her version was the best.

"All right, then, I got both of your points, girls, no need to fight," I interrupted them, trying to calm them down. "I don't care about details, I want to know if you got the message of the story right. What was the final message?"

"That we all have to love each other at Christmas, no matter if we don't have gifts or food or trees or presepe!" screamed Alice near an emotional breakdown, after her version of the story was inquired twice.

"Very good! Now you, Gabry. What did you understand?"

"I don't know. Can I go and play with Alice's piano now?"

"Ehm! Of course you can ..." I answered, trying not to feel that dismissed. She's only a 6 year-old after all, isn't she?

About lots of games and homeworks later, she came to the sitting room at snack time and inquired about our Christmas decorations.

"It's definitely too early to put them up. I don't like them!"

Alice was too busy devouring her sandwich to even bother answering.

That's okay, kids are smarter and more opinionated than how we were at their age. I had problems in taking her back home later at night, though, as she didn't want to leave a house she liked and decorations she adored. Again, nothing personal. It's the age factor, right?  :))) 

6 comments:

  1. Kids! Ok, that were some tough stories to tell over lunch :) Kids are the reflection of their parents and it's sad that not all are brought up like Alice is. You are doing a wonderful job, Elda and Alfonso.

    Kids these days are definitely more opinionated than we were. I don't think they are smarter, just more stimulated.

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  2. LOL i know! but if you want to catch kids attention, tell them scary stories and you win! :)

    alice is a lucky pie, thanks for noticing. and yes you're right, they're so much more stimulated these days. maybe too much. i wonder what types of adults they'll end up being. will they need lots of therapy?

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  3. Girls, I have so much in my mind but my good manners do not allow me to express my feelings-not for the little girl, but her parents.
    Elda, you know I have been a nanny the last 10 years, and what my eyes have seen!!!!!! How many irresponsible parents! Or parents who go overboard! :S
    I agree with Sandra that you and Alfie do a great job with Alice and I am guessing only a damn person would dismiss it.
    I want to be a mom like you! ^_^

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  4. oh come on roula, we're here to talk, so please fire those comments!
    i know, bella, there are lots if irresponsible parents, i spot them daily and this drives me mad because you can't do anything for their kids.
    and they even ruin kids drems. gabry told me that she can't be an artist in the future because her dad doesn't want her to. he says artists don't have an income. so she said she'll be a hairdresser instead. what the ...?

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  5. First of all, Gabry's dad is an idiot! (You said I can fire away!) We are talking about a 6 year old who sees the world pink and has the ability to fly to the moon with just her dreams. And this screwed 40 year old yuppy dares to ruin her dream????? Of course I have nothing against hairdressers, I adore mine (God bless him)but the point here is that a good parent is always next to his kid even if the kid is determined to become an alien-I so wanted to become an alien.... LOL

    A good parent is not the one who provides his/her kids with expensive clothes and shoes or the one who prepares the kids to become money hunters. These troubles are for much later. A good parents is someone who stimulates their kid's fantasy, let them express themselves and for God's shake, allow them to be a TRUE part of their family. Parents do not talk to their kids! And then they wonder why their kids ignore them at an older age. Do they have something to talk about? :S

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  6. correct, darling, a 40-year something arrives and ruins a dream, growing down to earth kids who will not even be able to fight for their believes. and more likely they'll be alienated, unsociable individuals who won't even be abele to interact with their parents, who dind't allow them to be kids! so sad, so very sad! dreaming as a baby is the first thing. parents should instill courage and the strenght to be whomever they want to be. it should be written in the constitution: ruining dreams is forbidden!

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