We CC parents are a special bunch!

[mellow]

Has anyone else noticed what an unusual situation exists here among CC members?

 

In the general population - most anywhere you go - you will find a variety of children and parents. There are some quiet, mild mannered children, there are some pretty active children, and there are some that give new meaning to the phrase "hell on wheels" (not to be confused as a stroller jab :D). There are parents that are keeping good tract of their children, there are parents that intercede when their kids go beyond a certain point, and there are parents that seem to have forgotten they are parents.

 

But here on CC, we seem to have only attracted the best of parents with the best of well mannered children! ;) You would think that out of the thousands of members, at least one of the "average" or less skilled parents - or one of the parents that have a more "challenging" offspring - would have happened onto this site and joined us. But apparantly not. :)

 

I find this leaves me feeling a touch inadequate as a parent. So I am going to start a support group to help parents like me:

 

"Hello, my name is Linda. And I have children that are not always good. They do things that embarrass me at times. They are disruptive at times. I love them dearly but they are not angels." Whew......... I feel much better :D

[nosnobunny]

Hello, my name is Beth and I have 6 daughters. Not all of them are perfect. In fact some have been in the "hell on wheels" category - more than once. :o Lucky for me they are all adults and are being punished with children of their own. ;) Am I concerned? No. That's what their husbands are for. :D

 

Beth

[ckrobyn]

Hi,

 

My name is Robyn and I have an 8 year old daughter with attitude! :eek:

 

Overall she is a terrific kid, but she has her moments, mostly when she wants to assert her independance :rolleyes:

 

We have gone over our "cruise Rules" and I am confident that she will NOT press every button in the elevator!

[mellow]

True confessions - mine are past the button pusing stage. I hope :o:eek::o.

The older one would not have pushed elevator buttons. The younger one would not have thought of it on her own but if she were hanging out with "friends" who thought they were being cute to push the buttons, she would have joined right in without a second's hesitation I am afraid. That is if she thought I was nowhere around to see and she wouldn't get caught.

[nosnobunny]

Oh great! Even some of my grandchildren are past the elevator button pushing stage. :D

 

Beth

[HockeyMom44]

Thank goodness the only elevator button my little one wants to push is the one for Adventure Ocean! :rolleyes: She's only 5.

Trudy

[mellow]

Oh, and while I am on this honesty kick - both girls cried cried on occasion when tired and fussed when bored (when they were babies too - as well as when they were too old to act like that :D). :o

[Vicar]

Well my daughter WOULD NEVER PUSH AN ELEVATOR BUTTON!!!!!

 

 

She would however grab the PA microphone in a department store and start singing I think she was 6 at the time

*LOL* (Trust me I did reprimand her and then laughed like hell after she was out of sight)

 

However now she is 17 and never exhibits that kind of behavior. Now its getting a tattoo, dying her hair gothic black, and dressing like, God knows what.

 

 

but in the end , she is a good girl, who gets good grades , does her chores around the house, works hard at her part time job, and is just a sweet good hearted person.

 

Every kid (includeing all of us way back when) has their moments. As long as the parents are there to step in and steer them in the right direction and stop the disruptive behavior

[christie629]

There is soooo much on these boards about misbehaving children that I'm a bit nervous.

 

My 10 year old is pretty good -- I can't see her pushing elevator buttons. She does however have the puberty ATTITUDE that can rear its ugly head sometimes!! Of course she doesn't show strangers her attitude only her parents. Aren't we lucky!!

 

I worry a bit about my 4 year old son -- I COULD see him pushing buttons but you can be ^%$ sure that I'm not going to let him!! He isn't a bad kid but he's a 4 year old boy!! Actually this morning when I got up and went to use my deoderant I noticed that there were teeth marks in it..... Hmmmm.... I wonder who!!

 

Only 15 more days!!

[ineedacruise]

My son (age 10) can be a bit of a Dennis the Menace, and has a real hard time sitting still but I keep a close eye on him at all times because I know better. He is also the type to hold doors, help people if they drop things, and has the biggest heart.

 

Put him with his know it all older sister who is 13 going on 30 and yes there will be sibling fighting but its all out of love!

 

Children will be children. It is ultimately up to the parents to watch them.

[nosnobunny]

I'm still laughing about the teeth marks in the deodorant. :D :D :D

 

Beth

[mellow]

Well, at least his breath will be "fresh"! :D

 

Needless to say, I know and believe kids will be kids. This thread was obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek. Because it seems like every thread is prefaced or excepted by the "my child is very well behaved" or "I would never let my child (name the offense)". And I just have to smile a bit because most children - given the right alignment of the moons - can and will do just about anything. IMO only of course. ;):);)

[Vicar]

OKay if we are Really gonna be HONEST cruising parents, then lets go all the way *LOL*

 

Sure anyone can complain about a poorly behaved child, or an uncocerned parent.

 

But how many of us here can admit to and share a story of THEIR OWN unruly chilhood behavior (with no reflection on your upbringing and your parents parenting skills) :) :) :)

 

I will start,

 

I was 8 yrs old when I head butted the guy in the Pluto costume at Disney World in the gut and sent him into a flower bed.

 

Of course I was punished for it and severely.

[Sea Island Lady]

Perhaps the reason we haven't heard about any of our own being bad is because (before this thread of course) those that have the bad children, haven't spoken up. :rolleyes: In fact, I'll bet Folgy has kids after all and is just ashamed to admit it because they are soooo bad. :D

 

OK, my turn! ;)

I have three young adults who are very bright, funny, good kids that have challenged me more than once over the years. Although they may have done wrong in the past, they do know how to act in public and follow the rules. I hope!:o

 

For myself?

I stole certs from a grocer (had to return them and apologize).

I ran away from home when I was 4 years old and walked down to the corner store and told them I didn't have any parents and I was hungry. All I really wanted was some candy and a coke, but I got a spanking instead.

In college, I took off with a friend and flew to NY City and didn't tell my parents until just recently. I was too big for a spanking this time. :D

[Shanafan]

 

I find this leaves me feeling a touch inadequate as a parent. So I am going to start a support group to help parents like me:

 

"Hello, my name is Linda. And I have children that are not always good. They do things that embarrass me at times. They are disruptive at times. I love them dearly but they are not angels." Whew......... I feel much better :D

 

Linda---you said it better than I ever could have! And isn't it the truth! I think we all have had those moments when we could crawl under a rock because of something our kids have said-or done.

[ALIASapoFan]

My kids are USUALLY well-behaved and save their worst moments for just me, but like all kids they can have their out in public moments too. I don't think either of them will be elevator button pushers, but I will have a talk with them just in case. I think my youngest could possibly do that if she sees everyone else's kid do it.

 

I am not worried about my 6 year old at all. My 4 year old can have many moments where she just isn't paying attention and bump into people or such. Yes, if they are tired or really MAD they will both cry. They can both be whiners. I can't think of a time where they did something "bad" that embarrassed me, but they can both suddenly SAY something that could be embarrassing. They may announce very loudly "oops, I just FARTED!" Or have discussions about their poop. They seem to forget that we told them that is NOT for discussion in public.

 

Recently I was at Target and my girls were just not listening or paying attention to me. I had to keep telling them to stay close to me, etc. A few minutes after a heated "discussion" with them, a stranger asked me if she could give them stickers because they were so well-behaved. I said sure. I was wondering if she had heard me yelling at them - thinking I was insane because they weren't running wild, just not standing still and touching everything. They were extra good after that. LOL.

[celtic selke]

Well eat your hearts out. MY daughter was a perfect angel when she was small. I could take her anywhere and she would never touch anything or leave my side.

 

Until the day she turned into the teenaged demon from hell. Picture Regan from "The Exorcist".

 

Well now she is fine again and has decided to NEVER EVER have any children. She is afraid they will all be like her. Damn---I was so looking forward to it.

 

 

celtic

[Folgy]

Perhaps the reason we haven't heard about any of our own being bad is because (before this thread of course) those that have the bad children, haven't spoken up. :rolleyes: In fact, I'll bet Folgy has kids after all and is just ashamed to admit it because they are soooo bad. :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

OMG!!!!!!!! Sea Island Lady (I just had a coronary after reading this) :eek:

[christie629]

This is great! I'm so tired of hearing about everyone's perfectly well behaved Emily Post trained children....

 

Kids are kids and they are not always on their best behavior! I'm not too worried about my kids because I don't let them do as they please!! I'm sure each child will have their own meltdown from being overtired or sibling fighting or something but that's okay, because they know if they start and I have to tell them to stop more than once... they lose a privlege.

 

Of course a cruise ship is fulling of bribing privleges!!

 

I was a like Celtic's daughter in her teen years... I used to sneak out of the house on a weekly basis. I was terrible and now that I have a daughter... I'm TERRIFIED!

 

The best... I bought the house I grew up in from my father. It was actually bought my great-grandfather out of the Sears Catalog and brought in on railroad. Anyway, I know how to escape from that house and I plan to fix it all before she hits the teen years!! Hee-hee!!

 

Christie

[mellow]

Seal, that just means she was a slow learner! :D Waiting until she was a teen.

 

Now, my youngest "angel" was an early achiever. She totalled a car when she was 5 years old. Well, helped total it would be more accurate I guess. She and 2 of her fellow 5 year old deviants were outside playing. And Shaun (yes, boys started leading her astray at a tender age) decided to "write" on a car parked on the street with a rock scratching his name on the back fender area. Then Kelley followed suit and wrote her name. Then came my DD's turn (we have mentioned earlier here that she would follow what others do :o have we not?). The only good thing I can say about her is that at least she was smart enough not to sign her name! She only drew a small picture. She left on incriminating evidence. Her only slip was not making sure her partners in crime were as "smart" as her. ;)

 

Long story, short - it was an old car that a neighbor had bought for their teen son and so the book value was less than the cost to repaint the car so the insurance "totalled" it.

 

End of my story. I will save the one about how I (yes, me, myself) at the age of 7 decided to see how the Christmas tree stand worked while my parents were taking a nap. I crawled under the tree and started playing with the screws as I had seen my father do. Next thing I knew the whole tree had fallen over and most of the glass bulbs shattered (hardwood floors). Can anyone say "totalled tree". And I wonder where DD gets it....

[Tatka]

My son had his moments when he was young...I don't remember whining in the public place, but he could sometimes be mean to the other kids or do wild things.

 

Now at 13 he thinks it's embarrassing and "not cool" (his words) to attract attention by doing something stupid. He just became teenager and while he likes to mention his "hormones" , I've not noticed anything whiled yet.

 

My main problem with him is his grades, specially with all attention and help he gets as an only child with his homework and such.

 

My concern when on cruise is underage drinking. For the most part Mike is honest with us and tells us about his concerns. Older teens were asking if he wanted to try and he even tried once but didn't like it at all. I hope he will make this choice when he is 14 - 15 and older.

[brn2crz]

My childs worst 3 days.Sometimes last year..4 yo..

 

Stamped ALL my walls and white formal dining chairs with our Business stamps.

Noticed some of my neighbors kids toys in our yard.He was missing from our back yard for a few minutes.Called and called him,getting frantic,fixing to call 911...Finally he comes out of the neighbors garage!!! What are you doing (they are not home by the way) I wanted to see what Ryans toys were doing while he is not home!!!

3rd day...Mom,come see something outside...Glass to the back of my Suburban,shattered out..." I busted it out with my hammer,so you could see better"

Told the lady at the Furniture store,when asked if we were looking for a new bed "My mommy and Daddy get naked in Bed"

Told a policeman in line behind us at the store.."My mom has stuff in her purse,she didn't pay for"....(no idea where he got this)

And yes...this is from a good kid...who,like all kids.Acts like a kid sometimes.

Kids have to be taught,and mistakes happen.You turn your back for a second,and its amazing what they can come up with.Mine also knows what time-out,loss of priveledge,and a good spanking means.But just because you do this,does not mean your kids will never mis-behave.Funny,I recieved these from my dad,today.

Why We Love Children

1. A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he'd found a cat, but it was

dead. "How do you know that the cat was dead?" she asked her pupil.

"Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move," answered the child

innocently. "You did WHAT?! ?" the teacher exclaimed in surprise. "You

know," explained the boy, "I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it didn't

move."

 

2. A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes

later....."Da-ad...." "What?" "I'm thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?"

"No, you had your chance Lights out." Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad...."

"WHAT?" "I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??" "I told you NO! If you

ask again, I'll have to spank you!!" Five minutes

later......"Daaaa-aaaad....." "WHAT!" "When you come in to spank me, can

you bring a drink of water?"

 

3. An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief,

finally asked him "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"

 

The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I'll run in and out and in

and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's

sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!'"

 

4. One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was

tucking her son into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked

with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?" The

mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't dear," she said. "I

have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence was broken at last by his

shaky little voice: "The big sissy."

 

5. It was that time, during the Sunday morning service, for the

children's sermon. All the children were invited to come forward. One

little girl was wearing a particularly pretty dress and, as she sat down,

the pastor leaned over and said, "That is a very pretty dress. Is it your

Easter Dress?" The little girl replied, directly into the pastor's clip-on

microphone, "Yes and my Mom says it's a bitch to iron."

 

6. When I was six months pregnant with my third child, my three year

old came into the room when I was just getting ready to get into the

shower. She said, "Mommy, you are getting fat!" I replied, "Yes, honey,

remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy." "I know," she replied,

"but what's growing in your butt?"

 

7. A little boy was doing his math homework. He said to himself, "Two

plus five, that son of a bitch is seven. Three plus six, that son of a

bitch is nine...." His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What

are you doing?" The little boy answered, "I'm doing my math homework, Mom."

"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked.

"Yes," he answered.

 

Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you

teaching my son in math?" The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning

addition." The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus

two, that son of a bitch is four?" After the teacher stopped laughing, she

answered, "What I taught them was, two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH is four."

 

8. One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken

Little to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little

tried to warn the farmer. She read, ".. and so Chicken Little went up to

the farmer and said, ' The sky is falling, the sky is falling! '" The

teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that farmer

said?" One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said: 'Holy

****! A talking chicken!'" The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10

minutes.

 

9. A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr.

Sugarbrown's daughter."

 

Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane

Sugarbrown."

 

The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday School, and said, "Aren't you Mr.

Sugarbrown's daughter?" She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm

not."

 

10. A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with

the boys?" Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're

too rough." The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked,

"If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"

 

11. A little girl goes to the barber shop with her father. She stands

next to the barber chair, eating a snack cake, while her dad gets his hair

cut. The barber says to her, "Sweetheart, you're going to get hair on your

Twinkie." She says, "Yes, I know, and I'm going to get boobs too."

 

 

 

 

 

Now keep that smile on your face and pass it on to someone else!!

[karfest]

I am the parent of the smartest 17 year old in the world. This girl knows it ALL! Just ask her- she'll tell ya;)

 

Her older sister was once so smart but has gotten less intelligent the more she lives on her own.

 

But- for all their faults- they do know how to behave in public and I have never had an issue with their actions while on vacation.

[Tatka]

Oh..I forgot..

 

When Mike was around 5 his 8 years old sister pretended to be dead and he called 911. (We were at home!!!)

 

Well...When Mike was 8 we went to the local Stop and Shop and while I was calling home from pay phone, kid managed to call 911. Police is just 1 step away from there and by the time I finished talking I was greeted by a policeman. :eek: Well.. in a few minutes he was begging me not to "kill" Mike.;)

[gemcat]

brn2crz- That one made me laugh so hard my sides hurt. Thanks. :D

 

I have the most perfectly-behaved, polite, considerate 17 year old son any mother could wish for. As long as I can see him, that is. We've done our share of leaving stores because he had a two year old's meltdown. There have been lots of parent/teacher conferences about homework and behavior over the years. Just about the time I'm ready to pull what's left of my grey hair out, I hear "Gosh, Mom, you are the best! Thanks for being so tough on me when I needed it."

Of course, as a child, I was a perfect angel. Except for the time I lied about leaving the house to play at my friend's across the street. When I was caught, I knew a spanking was coming, so I put a "Little Golden Book" in my panties. Of course, that only made it worse when my dad found out. :rolleyes: