14 Comments

lol - THE CRUMB!!! ahhh parental preference, pretty sure this happens to all of us! i’d say it’s a phase except my 13yr old still does it (at least now I can say it’s 100% manipulation/divide-and-conquer) but for our 5yr old it’s not and we just roll with it, honestly i think we both enjoy the break whenever the other one is the favourite! “oh only daddy can brush your teeth, ok, I agree - he is a very talented teeth brusher!” good luck out there, mama! parenting is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure!

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Threats and bribes, that is what my parenting has boiled down to 🫣🫠🤔

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VERY Emily Dickinson

God gave a loaf to every bird, but just a crumb to me.

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Okay I just laughed out loud right now because I've been in EXACTLY the same spot with my little ones too... more than once! Misery loves company, right? 🤣

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Tzuruz in Yiddish means agrivation and , so the joke has it: you inherit it from your children.

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It used to hurt my feelings too, but kids at that age know like five things. You can’t take it too personally.

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Somehow, I lost my owner's manual in the chaos of having our first child 37 years ago. Really, we are all just pretending to be parents, and at some point we actually are parents. And just when we figure out how to solve one of their problems, it is not a problem any more and new ones arise.

As Dan Rather used to say, Courage. And as my mom used to say, Remember, you are the adult.

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Oh Edith! Welcome to motherhood! :)

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Would LOVE to be offered a crumb of chocolate cake

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I have REALLY mixed feelings when this happens (often). My wife works so hard, and the kids so often want "Dad" -- I love it, but it sucks for her. I begrudgingly accept 😂😂😂

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Oct 4Edited

giving the crumb -- it's an inscrutable gesture, and sort of deep when they do it, and also humanly familiar. lol, your portrayal is spot on.

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I saw this exact parenting strategy over and over in Paris on the Metro at the end of the school day. French parents are notorious for NOT spoiling children. So you are doing fine. Distraction is way better than engaging. I could only remember that half the time. (Also, G is at a tough age. Age 3 was hell year with Katie, now safely 33.)

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I am so glad you are back sharing with us.

MAR

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This is hilarious and kind of mean. If she spends more time with you, she’s bribing Daddy to spend more time with her. I don’t know really - kids are inscrutable sometimes.

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