Good afternoon, ladies & gentlemen!  It’s just the first few days of November but the sun is still shining & so far there is no snow in sight. However, I hear it’s not the same in Calgary, Alberta. I hear Mother Nature is taking her wrath out on them. You poor folks that live down there! I hope you all have a nice warm parka. Our Canadian winters can be awfully unforgiving. 

On a sad note I have been unfortunate enough to catch a cold but that’s what happens when someone else shows up to work with a cold. Like a catchy tune it tends to catch on with everyone else. At least I had a day off work after I caught it. It’s nice to relax & allow myself to be sick. Before you go telling me that if I was truly sick I would be laying down in bed right now, I’m just going to remind you that typing for you folks is not considered ‘hard work’ to me. Also, I took a shower this morning so needless to say that woke me up rather quickly.

I suppose I won’t be posting daily considering I missed yesterdays post but after I got off work I just went to straight to bed. So I apologize if you were hoping for a post & didn’t receive one! I will try to fit two posts in one for you. & thank you for 4 page views already! That is an incredible success for me!

So for today, I would like to discuss what I call ‘kid-catering’: where parents cater to their kids. I find it quite common in our society today & I don’t really quite understand it. I don’t have kids of my own but I have babysat a lot of cute children & I don’t understand why some parents treat their households like a restaurant. ‘Oh you don’t want your vegetables, Billy? Would you like a grilled cheese & some soda pop instead?’ While some would argue that grilled cheese sandwiches are healthy I’d like to point out that unless you serving whole wheat bread & real brick cheese, you’re simply putting processed materials into their stomachs, which – if I have read all the material correctly – has been linked to diabetes & obesity in persons of all ages. I don’t see a lot of kids these days asking for whole wheat bread.

I understand that when a kid starts whining & hollering it gets very annoying & most parents just want to make it stop because nobody likes to hear their children cry. Yes, it is a simple fix & I would probably resort to the same thing every now & then. I just don’t understand why you don’t strike a compromise. ‘You don’t want your vegetables, Billy? If I make you a grilled cheese you have to promise mother that you will clean up all of your toys after you’re finished eating.’ Easier said than done & its highly likely the kid will eat the grilled cheese & then end up making even more of a mess rather than sticking to the agreement. I’m sure most don’t even understand what an agreement is.

Growing up I was never really catered to. I got fed what was put on my plate & that was what we were having. There was no arguing, there was no giving in but there was compromise. ‘Just two more bites of your potatoes & three more of your ham.’ It wasn’t meant to be mean, it was them trying to teach me to appreciate that I even have food. Wouldn’t you agree that people are more focused on the things that they lack rather than what they have gained? I would have to blame it on consumerism.

I suppose the question I am asking you readers is this: Is it ever okay to cater to a child requests & if not, in what situation would it be okay?

Signing off for now! Have a great day.

-T.A.B (: