Not my kid

Are you one of those parents who think their child can do no wrong? Wait, don't answer that. Because if you are one of those parents, you probably wouldn't admit it because that might be admitting you might be doing something wrong and if your child isn't wrong then you certain aren't wrong, right? Okay, that might not make sense on first glance, but let it sink in and then slowly buy surely, the logic of it will make its way into your psyche. It's hard to take blame, to accept responsibility for things. Sometimes, it's too much for a person to bear, let alone a child. But there are some kids who tend to blame almost everything on other people. Like, they lose a race and it's their friend's fault because she was wearing purple socks that day instead of white. Or if they trip on a rock it's their brother's fault because he should have seen the rock in the yard and picked up it days ago. It's natural for children to place the blame on someone else - anyone else. It's usually because they're embarrassed or just react badly or just don't know how to handle a certain situation. But, they can also learn that behavior. They can learn it from their parents. Plenty of parents see only the good in their children. They look past shortcomings. They ignore bad behavior. They allow their child to get away with things that they wouldn't let another child do. I remember once when Caty was 3. We were sitting in the lobby of her preschool after the kids had just come in from the playground and one of the moms approached her. "Caty, how come you aren't being nice to Melissa (her daughter)? Melissa says you didn't want to play on the swings with her." Before I even had the chance to say anything (and you know I was about to!) the teacher said "Hold on a minute. Melissa was the one not being nice. She gave Caty a hard time, so don't you lecture her." I was relieved to have the teacher step in so I didn't have to give this mom the business. First of all, how dare you even think about reprimanding another person's child like that? And secondly, why would you automatically assume that your little princess was telling the absolute truth about the situation. Oh, that's right, because she's a princess and you probably never question her. I have to admit, my mom used to always have my back. She always believed what I told her and always went to battle for me. A lot of times, it turned out I wasn't being very honest and didn't deserve having her stick up for me that way. But, I would do the same thing for my kid. I don't want to be like the mom who thinks her kid is never the cause of the problem. Because, guess what Moms of children who can do no wrong? It takes two to tango.