I hope I can honestly say that our kids are pretty good children. We have problems just like any other parent whether it be something small like reminding them to say thank you or something large like identity theft (Boy! These kids sure learn how to hack at an early age!). But the one thing we are noticing with Emma is that she has learned how to be a little snarky.
It probably doesn't help that her parents are lovingly sarcastic to each other. Probably not a day goes by where she doesn't hear a conversation like this:
LISA: Did you remember to mail the bills?
SCOTT: Oh thanks SO much for reminding me since I'M the one who writes them out every month.
LISA: I'm glad you remembered because that DWP bill on the counter must NOT be there because YOU put it in the mailbox.
SCOTT: That's right because the COUNTER is a MAILBOX.
And...end scene.
Here are just two recent examples of Emma's snarkiness. First, it was bedtime, and Lisa was putting Emma into bed. Since it has been a little colder at night, Lisa wanted Emma to go underneath the blankets. Emma did not want to do it. Lisa explained to Emma that she wants to tuck her into the blankets so she'll stay nice and warm.
And what did Emma have to say about this? She told Lisa, "You don't have to worry about me. You just worry about yourself."
The second example was a double whammy. It was dinner, and we were all sitting and eating...except Emma. Lisa told Emma to stop fooling around and to eat her dinner. Lisa said this several times, and I think this started to annoy Emma because she told Lisa, "No more conversations! Everybody just be quiet and eat!"
Whammy number one.
Lisa explained to Emma that everyone was eating except her. Lisa pointed towards Andrew and said, "Look at your brother. He's just sitting down and eating his dinner."
Emma did not like this comparison because she responded, "I don't think Andrew even knows what the word 'conversation' means..."
DOUBLE WHAMMY!
I'm glad when we hear Emma talk like this we can laugh because there will be very little laughing in the house when she becomes a teenager. For now, we are trying to sternly tell Emma that there are certain ways to talk to people that are acceptable and not acceptable. We don't want to overreact because this may only feed the fire inside her more. Or as Lisa and I explained to her:
LISA: Please don't say that, Emma. Because your Daddy would NEVER say that.
SCOTT: Oh yes. I would NEVER say that because your Mommy would NEVER give me a REASON to say such a thing.
What role models we are...
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