Parental advice: Sarcasm on kids, sure
People, I believe, have become a sarcastic lot. Not only can't we say what we mean, but we deliberately say the opposite and want others to understand what we want.
Person 1: Should I buy that?
Person 2: Sure, go ahead and buy that. Buy anything you want.
OR
Person 1 does something not very nice, maybe accidentally.
Person 2: Why don't you do that again? Huh?
As the cliché goes, if an alien drops by our planet and listens in to our conversations, they would be completely confused. Then again, you might argue that to spew out and understand sarcasm requires a higher level of intelligence, something that aliens might not be capable of given they're more direct, simple and arguably more efficient. I mean, what a concept - telling people to do something by saying the opposite - Pure Genius!
What about children? They aren't born sacarstic - I hope not. Quite the opposite I think. The moment these little ones learn to communicate with their parents - they completely trust our words, our requests and we, in turn, have the responsibility to guide them, answer their questions and give them commands which are simple, clear and meaningful. Being the loving parents we are, they assume that each comment we make to them has been properly weighed with the right tone and words and that we would never compromise their safety. So when we tell them to "sure, do it again" or "go ahead and jump", aren't we confusing their little minds? Don't we take away that extra bit of innocence each time? Aren't we moulding them ever so slowly into the cynical, twisted, wreck of humankind that already exists all about us? Why don't we try to break the chain for once, and spare our children from this insane world where we say what we don't mean? No doubt, sooner or later they will meet sacarstic cynical people outside, but let's keep it safe and warm inside then - the world is cruel and hurtful as it is, no need to invite it into our homes too.
My bottom line - we spend our time and energy coaching, teaching, loving our children. In then, in the heat of an argument, we turn negative and plaster them with confusing opposite-sounding remarks in loud tones, things that will not only hurt, but they will inevitably pick up and use, probably back on us - which we will then get angry about - a vicious cycle with us as the starting point. Talk to your children the way you want them to talk to you - but if you like to be spoken to sarcastically, then I have nothing to say but, sure, enjoy :)
Person 1: Should I buy that?
Person 2: Sure, go ahead and buy that. Buy anything you want.
OR
Person 1 does something not very nice, maybe accidentally.
Person 2: Why don't you do that again? Huh?
As the cliché goes, if an alien drops by our planet and listens in to our conversations, they would be completely confused. Then again, you might argue that to spew out and understand sarcasm requires a higher level of intelligence, something that aliens might not be capable of given they're more direct, simple and arguably more efficient. I mean, what a concept - telling people to do something by saying the opposite - Pure Genius!
What about children? They aren't born sacarstic - I hope not. Quite the opposite I think. The moment these little ones learn to communicate with their parents - they completely trust our words, our requests and we, in turn, have the responsibility to guide them, answer their questions and give them commands which are simple, clear and meaningful. Being the loving parents we are, they assume that each comment we make to them has been properly weighed with the right tone and words and that we would never compromise their safety. So when we tell them to "sure, do it again" or "go ahead and jump", aren't we confusing their little minds? Don't we take away that extra bit of innocence each time? Aren't we moulding them ever so slowly into the cynical, twisted, wreck of humankind that already exists all about us? Why don't we try to break the chain for once, and spare our children from this insane world where we say what we don't mean? No doubt, sooner or later they will meet sacarstic cynical people outside, but let's keep it safe and warm inside then - the world is cruel and hurtful as it is, no need to invite it into our homes too.
My bottom line - we spend our time and energy coaching, teaching, loving our children. In then, in the heat of an argument, we turn negative and plaster them with confusing opposite-sounding remarks in loud tones, things that will not only hurt, but they will inevitably pick up and use, probably back on us - which we will then get angry about - a vicious cycle with us as the starting point. Talk to your children the way you want them to talk to you - but if you like to be spoken to sarcastically, then I have nothing to say but, sure, enjoy :)