Learning to Respect My 2 Year Old Son
I will start this post with a slightly heavier topic - my reflections on parenthood - before I get down to the photos from last weekend.
Friday evenings are usually precious and quality time for us to ask each other how our week in school or at work had been. Last Friday was no different except my wife and I decided to also treat Daniel to some chocolate ice cream to change things up a bit for our evening routine. But when we reached the ice cream parlor, there was only dark chocolate (caffeinated) available. So I decided to “trick” Daniel into buying peanut butterscotch ice cream instead. I told my wife that he is still too young to understand the difference between chocolate and peanut butter. I had half suspected that kids at his age would love just about anything that is sweet anyway. But I was wrong. Daniel refused to eat his share of the ice cream, and this irritated me since I hate wasting food away. I even got to the brink of reprimanding him for his “picky attitude” before my wife stopped me.
“Why are you getting angry at him for not wanting to eat something that he didn’t ask for? He is not that young anymore; he can tell the difference between chocolate and what is not chocolate.” Her remarks stunned me.
I took a step back and dwelled on what happened for the next few days. Am I a bad dad? Do I really understand how much his intellect has grown and develop over these two years? Reflecting deeper within myself, I realised that I had not accorded the respect that Daniel, no matter how young he is, deserves. I did not respect his choice for chocolate ice cream. I did not respect his intellectual ability to discern the differences between chocolate ice cream and what is not. I did not respect his decision to refuse and not be forced into something he did not ask for.
I felt like a horrible father. I wanted to be efficient and that was even a worse excuse for the decision I made.
I guess I am writing this reflection here firstly to serve as a self-reminder not to repeat such mistakes, and secondly, to be honest about my journey in parenthood. Sometimes, good intentions do not always turn out so well and there are no perfect parents. I am not saying this as a way to cover up for what I did, but more so to confront the reality that I need to always try to be better, do better. While Daniel may not remember this incident, even when he reads about it years down the road, I promise to always remember in hopes that will be the last of such treatment from me.
Ultimately, I learned that Daniel may be only two years old, but he is my son, and he deserves more than just being loved; he deserves to be respected too.
Before I end off this post, here are some photo stories taken from the previous weekend. Most of our plans were canned due to the weather but like my wife said, we try to make the best out of it. Till next time!
