sometimes They're Jerks

One of our children had a friend over and a sibling asked the guest why they were still at our house. "Hey. What are you still doing here?!"
I was startled by the comment and told the child they were acting like a jerk.

The word jerk reminded them of this episode of Liv and Maddie from the Disney Channel and they asked the offending child it's he'd like to sing. Everyone chuckled - and a few started to sing.

The offending child thought he was being funny, but wasn't thinking about our friends feelings.

This little demonstration started me thinking about kids being jerks, what kinds of things they deem as funny, and how they use harsh words to gain favor with others. Goodness knows, I do not want to raise a jerk. The like of a jerk is a lonely terrible existence. So I started thinking about a Ted Talk by Deborah Gilboa that I'd seen on the Today Show where she says that as expectations for success have risen, expectations regarding character have plummeted.

I want our children to be successful, but if success comes at the expense of character...

As I let one of the kids out the car at the friends house, my child told me that I was awesome, most of the time. He admitted that the times when I wasn't awesome, were those times that he didn't get his way. Other than that, I'm the best. Regardless, before he shut the car door, he told me he loved me to Pluto, the depths of the ocean, and... I'm thankful he knows that he's not always going to get his way and that I love him (and he loves me) regardless.

I'm not responsible for their happiness, but their faithfulness.