An ideal situation is to be given a couple of "practice kids" before having any for real. It would be kind of like bowling a few frames for free before you start keeping score.
I used to think having a dog would be adequate preparation for parenthood, but you know, it's not really the same. You can't just leave out a bowl of water and trust that your children will entertain themselves by licking their stomachs and chasing squirrels.
Also, if a child does something wrong, like color all over the walls with a permanent marker, you can't just whack him/her on the nose with the Sports Section and say, "Why did you do that?" It is not an effective deterrent.
I used to think having a dog would be adequate preparation for parenthood, but you know, it's not really the same. You can't just leave out a bowl of water and trust that your children will entertain themselves by licking their stomachs and chasing squirrels.
Also, if a child does something wrong, like color all over the walls with a permanent marker, you can't just whack him/her on the nose with the Sports Section and say, "Why did you do that?" It is not an effective deterrent.
now you know as well as I do that if they did give practice kids, everyone would know better than to have real kids.
ReplyDeleteAlso you can't leave your kids all day and go shopping, to the in-laws, out to dinner...without actually paying someone to stay with them. You can't lock them in a cage or leash them either although there are days when I've been slightly tempted by the leash.
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