Nasty Habits
I want my kids to be individuals, to express themselves in their own distinctive ways without feeling pressure to follow the crowd.
On the other hand, I also want them to feel comfortable in today's society. To fit in, and to be accepted. So, sometimes, when I see them doing things that might cause other people to label them as strange or unacceptable, I feel like I need to step in and make a change.
It's easy to correct the nasty habits. I have no problem pointing out to my kids that they shouldn't be excavating their nasal passages ("digging for gold" as we call it) or vigorously scratching their bottoms while out in public. They are learning that good manners and tact are a positive attribute.
But do I worry about the seemingly harmless tendencies, like knuckle-cracking and refusing to wear anything but sweatpants? Which habits are just funny childhood quirks, and which ones might evolve into annoying adult compulsions?
I want my children to be unique and original, but I don't want them to be so different from the rest of their peers that it becomes a negative.
So far, I guess I don't need to worry too much. My kids don't do anything overly bizarre. And they fit in well with their friends, especially when it comes to nasal excavation... I've noticed that a lot of young kids have picked up that habit.
On the other hand, I also want them to feel comfortable in today's society. To fit in, and to be accepted. So, sometimes, when I see them doing things that might cause other people to label them as strange or unacceptable, I feel like I need to step in and make a change.
It's easy to correct the nasty habits. I have no problem pointing out to my kids that they shouldn't be excavating their nasal passages ("digging for gold" as we call it) or vigorously scratching their bottoms while out in public. They are learning that good manners and tact are a positive attribute.
But do I worry about the seemingly harmless tendencies, like knuckle-cracking and refusing to wear anything but sweatpants? Which habits are just funny childhood quirks, and which ones might evolve into annoying adult compulsions?
I want my children to be unique and original, but I don't want them to be so different from the rest of their peers that it becomes a negative.
So far, I guess I don't need to worry too much. My kids don't do anything overly bizarre. And they fit in well with their friends, especially when it comes to nasal excavation... I've noticed that a lot of young kids have picked up that habit.
Permalink posted by Phil at 12:07 AM
7 Comments:
Bad habits huh? Let's see there's belching her ABC's-(thank Over the Hedge for that one), spitting, and the ever so famous "Digging for Gold"
My son just turned 5 his latest thing is to try to gross me out. What is it with 5 year olds and bodily functions?
I think a lot of those little habits are naturally suppressed as peer interaction becomes more complex and deliberate. Peer pressure isn't ALWAYS a negative force--sometimes it helps eliminate those less-than-stellar habits, like nose-spelunking and wearing the same beloved Spiderman shirt every single day until it can stand up on its own.
It's good to teach your kids to stand up to the crowd and be their own person, but if the crowd happens to rub a couple of those roughest edges off, that could be okay, too.
Let's say we're working on it, too.
So you're saying I shouldn't crack my knuckles and wear the same sweatpants all the time?
It's a hard balance to strike.
I remember once having this crazy impulse to get rid of our TV, only to remember a story one of my old Psych prof's told me.
His family got rid of their TV when their daughter was young, only to discover that so many of her peers would reference TV shows as a cultural touchstone that she began to feel isolated from her friends. She didn't have a frame of reference to the pop culture her friends were immersed in. Plus her friends thought she was weird for not being able to watch TV. So they ended up putting the TV back.
It doesn't help that Hollywood cranks out television and movies with gratuitous kick-in-the-crotch scenes and farting. The Transformers movie last summer had a forty-foot robot urinating ("leaking fluids") all over a human.
Dumb movie executives and writers seem to be clueless how to make kids laugh without reverting back to stupidity.
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