Dear parents (you know who you are),
I’m going to age myself here, but have y’all seen the YouTube video and all the memes that came after about the honey badger? (link NSFW) If you haven’t, the premise is that the honey badger doesn’t give a what. I’ve loved that meme from the day I saw it nearly seven years ago. Dearest moms and dads, I do not find it nearly as amusing as I once did and I’m sure you don’t either.
Because we are raising honey badgers.
Picture by Phuoc Ly Photography
Your kids do whatever they want, whenever they want. You try to divert them but it becomes a game. They even look at you and give a sly smile letting you know that they know they’re not supposed to be doing that. It’s cute at first…but then not so much. It gets worse when there is an audience, especially those who deems them too cute to be mad at.Then they get to be a little more independent and start going on ‘adventures’. Reports come in about them not listening and just doing what they wanted to do. They run off. They don’t listen just for the sake of not listening. For some of us, this is a brand new arena. Older siblings may not have done this. You just want to pull your hair out because how do you fix this?
When they start school you’re hoping that this will turn it around, but then you get the daily reports of losing points or changing colors. Most days it is because of not listening or following directions. You may express concern at conferences but the teacher says that kids take time to adjust. Give them more responsibilities at home. They should settle down now that we’re past the first 9 weeks school.
So we give them more time. While I would love to tell you that it miraculously gets better, it doesn’t. Gradually you will probably see a change in their behavior. They slowly learn that not all attention is good attention and that maybe their attitude and behavior could use a shape up. You start to get excited because the tide has turned.
Occasionally the honey badger will rear it’s ugly head but you sigh and love them. Because that’s what parents do.
Sincerely,
The mom of a honey badger
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