1 post tagged “mornings”
It has taken me far, far too long, but I've finally learned that sometimes the best response to my teenagers is no response at all. If ignoring the question/comment would be outright rude, I go with a noncommittal "hmmmm" or "I see", or a quick hug in lieu of saying anything.
An example:
"Whyyyyyyy does school have to start sooooooo early?"
(delivered in a petulant, long-suffering tone on more occasions than I can possibly count)
I'm a fairly level-headed person. Someone asks a question, I'm going to try to answer it. So I've responded to this oft-repeated query in various and sundry ways:
"There are a lot of good reasons for school starting when it does, if you think about it."
"Look at the bright side. Because you start first thing in the morning, you have your afternoons free."
"It's not really that early, kiddo."
"If you find you're consistently tired in the mornings, you may want to get more sleep."
"I agree that a lot of kids, including you, would benefit from a later start to the school day. But it's unlikely to change any time soon, so you've got to make the best of it."
On my less empathetic days:
"Life's tough. Get used to it."
My responses generally elicited more whining, or an argument, or simply a heightened level of frustration on all sides (especially mine). Turns out my boys aren't actually interested in an answer, or in having a rational discussion. They just want to be heard and maybe score some pity points. Mornings have been less contentious since I adopted my new non-response policy. It seems so obvious now. I don't know why I didn't get it sooner.
An aside: does this mean kids are from Venus, too?
