Wanna Go Live with Your Grandma.....in Mexico?!

There are those things we *swear* we will never, ever do as parents (learning from our own childhood or observing the parenting skills of others).  As warned by multiple people, I have been dead set on NOT making any of those bold statements surrounding the upbringing of my child(ren).  I realize that each child and situation is different; thus, requiring different parenting techniques.

Examples:

Breast-Feeding versus Bottle (Formula) Feeding

Pacifier versus No Pacifier

Crib Bumper versus No-Crib Bumper

Video Monitor versus Old School Monitor

Cloth Diaper versus Disposable Diapers

OU Fan versus Supporting Any Other School

Beating Your Child in Public versus "Time Out"

You know?! All those great debates :)

Well, I found ONE THING that I will swear to you. Right here. Right now.

It's going to require a bit of a background story.

While sitting in the doctor's office waiting room on Wednesday, we observed quite the toddler tantrum and verbal outlash of a child/parent meltdown.  I'm not profiling or being prejudice, but I feel the need to elaborate on the physical aspects of this child to paint this picture in your head.  As it appeared to us, one parent was Hispanic and one parent was Native American. This little boy (age 2), we'll call him Sammy, had beautiful dark skin and dark, dark brown shiny hair. Sammy also had some gold bling bling! In both of his ears.  I can't even begin to accurately describe his hair.....mullet-ish, maybe? It was pretty much a buzz cut on the top and sides, but then he had this wide rat-tail-ish thing starting in the middle of the back of his head that ran down to the middle of his shoulder blades. Needless to say, it was saaaaaahweet.

Sammy was a bit of a wild child. You know the kind? Totally disruptive to the environment around him. He was running amuck in the waiting room. Loudly yelling things that you couldn't understand, climbing on all the furniture, and clanking around things that shouldn't have been clanked around.  It was obvious that the mom was embarrassed by Sammy's actions; however, the dad was too mesmerized by his magazine to take discipline intiative.

When Sammy started yelling curse words (mostly the s-h-!-t word), his mom finally started to act. At first she giggled and instructed him to stop. Not effective. Sammy continued to yell his favorite curse word and proceed to giggle at himself. She threatened to "take him to the bathroom," I'm assuming for a good spanking. No change in behavior. Then, big 'ol pregnant momma jumped out of her chair, grabbed Sammy by one arm, suspended him in the air, and yelled......

"Do you want to go live with your Grandma? IN MEXICO!"

This is the point when I nearly fell out of my chair.

Momma knew best, it worked!

Now for my point: I will NEVER threaten to "ship out" my child (or my mother) to Mexico as a form of punishment. I've been there, I've seen their Caribbean ocean, I've eaten their delightful authentic Mexican cuisine. That is no punishment.

Under his breath, Alan volunteered to take the "punishment" if our little ornery friend wasn't going to go.