Monday, August 3, 2009

Peer Pressure, Three-year-old style

It all began when Megan's little friend Anna got her ears pierced.
Instantly, having unpierced ears was totally "uncool." (in the world according to Megan)
Hmmmmmm . . . what is the proper parental decision???????

Option 1 - Ask her if Anna Cox jumped off the Brooklyn bridge, would she?????
Nah. Megan's never been to Brooklyn and wouldn't know what I was taking about.

Option 2 - Try to scare her out of the idea by telling her how badly it will hurt.
Great idea!
Too bad it was unsuccessful.
I guess my three-year-old would rather be in pain than "uncool."
I really didn't expect peer pressure to be this intense at three!
I really hope Anna Cox doesn't get a tattoo next. Then we'll really be in trouble.

Option 3 - Just cave in (after days of begging) and agree to take her.
O.K. Sounds like a plan.
(I hope you're not reading this blog for parenting advice.)

So, we were off to the mall . . .
Aunt Katie and Nana to joined us for moral support.
She was so excited! She hopped right up in the chair and was beaming from ear to ear.
My heart was breaking because I knew she had no idea what was coming, despite my dire warnings of pain and gore.

One last photo of her naked ears.

Ouch!


Providing comfort

She only cried for about a minute until she looked in the mirror and saw her adorable pink crystal flower earrings. (I think I cried longer than she did.)

Lesson I could have learned about three-year-old peer pressure . . .
Step up and be the parent. Make a decision and stick to it. Say no. Teach your children how to avoid the temptations of peer pressure and live their own lives.

Like I said, I hope you haven't turned to me for parenting advice.

If I were being graded, here's how it would go . . .
Teaching lessons about resisting peer pressure - F
Looking totally adorable in pink crystal flower earrings - A++

4 comments:

OhioFamOf4 said...

Don't feel bad...at least you didn't take her when she had a double ear infection and thought the non-stop crying was from the ear piercing. Not that I know anyone who would have done that or anything.

Mean Old Dad :-) said...

I have to say, I am a Mean Old Dad. I didn't take my girls to get their ears pierced, my wife did. However, she waited until they were fully aware of what was in store for them. If it had been up to me, I wouldn't have let them get their ears pierced until they were at least 10. Why 10? At that point, the kid is old enough to understand the pain that goes with getting the ears pierced. They also understand that they will have to maintain good hygiene to keep infection from setting in.

If the kids won't listen to mom or dad, I say, let them learn the hard way. Pain is a real good teacher and in most cases, the pain is not fatal.

I remember a story about some Boy Scouts that went on a campout...Sorry, I got off on a tangent. :-) If you would like to hear the story about the scouts, visit my blog at http://mymeanolddad.blogspot.com/

John Robertson

my stay-at-home-momma drama said...

Dear Mean Old Dad,

You must be new to my blog. How do I know? You said that kids aren't fully aware of what is store for them until they are at least 10. If you were a long time reader, you would already know my Megan is remarkably gifted compared to the average child. Three is "Megan years" is equivalent to at least 10 in "regular child years." lol

Lisa

The High Family said...

Wow! Gosh I hope I don't have to deal with that kind of pressure when Kara turns 3! I am hoping to hold off until she is at least 7...wish me luck!!!!!!!!

ps- I like Megan's earrings! and yes, I would have cried as much as you did and will someday I am sure.