Friday, July 1, 2011

Lesson: It is physically impossible for children not to touch things


            We have a rule for our kids that was supposed to make life easier. The rule is, “Look with your eyes, not with your fingers.” Trouble is, it’s nice in theory, but hard for little boys (and probably little girls) to put into practice. I know they learn by exploring their world, but my-oh-my don’t I wish that I didn’t have to spend every other second during a trip to the grocery store repeating, “Leave that alone. Don’t touch that. Put that back. That isn’t yours, leave it alone. Get down, that’s not to climb on. Don’t pull the tags off. Don’t slide on that. Close the freezer door, you’re letting all the cold out. Don’t play with the fruit, people don’t want you touching their food.” And so on and so on. It got so bad at one point that I threatened to put all three of them into the shopping basket, just so I could keep them corralled. Believe it or not, I even bought a package of “Chinese handcuffs” (remember those?) thinking that I might have to distract them by tying their hands together with something. I haven’t actually used them yet, but I have to admit that I have been sorely tempted at times. It would help if I could remember to actually put them in my purse …

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