My family has always told me that I like to stir the pot, my mother said that I would argue with my toes if they would argue back, so when my 10 year old clinched her fists and gave me a look that would send chills through the hearts of the faint, I sang even louder!
My daughter is an only child and sometimes I feel that she's not getting the proper razzing. (Anyone with siblings, knows what its like to be embarrassed.) I feel its my responsibility to teach her how to laugh at herself.
DISCLAIMER: My daughter and I are very close, she goes everywhere with me, and always has. I know her limits, and what is acceptable, I would never do anything malicious, cruel or hurtful, she knows my intentions, I only want to make her laugh, and she also knows that I am not laughing AT her, but WITH her.
So a few things I do to keep my tween on her toes:
1)when she's placing her order at McDonald's, unexpectedly tickle her a little,to throw off the straight face
2)when driving her and her friends anywhere, turn up the radio and sing along to that Justin Beiber tune, just make sure you're off key
3)when crossing a crowded parking lot, spread your arms like an airplane and run around in circles
4)take her to a restaurant that sings to you on your birthday, stand up and proudly sing along
5)use her family nickname when her friends come over (provided that nickname is not Stinky Pants or something of the like)
6)dedicate a blog entry to the art of embarrassing her
7)when dropping her off anywhere, ALWAYS insist on a hug or a kiss
8) when you're in the grocery store and a good song comes on, dance through the isles
Ok you get the idea. She doesn't always appreciate these things as they are happening, but I'm hoping she will look back on them as fond memories
Life is way to short not to laugh!
If you have anymore ideas, please post them below...
I would have died of embarrassment and so pretended I was not with you lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I can't believe everyone kept picking #4.
I grew up with a mother who liked to do fun crazy things and it rubbed off on me when I had kids. But after a certain age kids get mighty serious when it comes to their parents' behaviour. It's healthy to laugh.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge
Oh, I'm guilty of embarrassing my own daughters.....on purpose. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I embarrassed my kids, by my mere existence. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was in Jr. High, we were in Penny's and one of my classmates was there. I said something to my mom and she flipped me off. (what nerve, considering she was quite straight-laced) My classmate told all our friends in school and they thought that was the coolest thing. (go figure)
Embarrassing the kids is a time-honored parenting tradition, one I take very seriously. I have two daughters, 8 and 10, and one of the best ways to embarrass them is to break out my awesome dance moves when they have friends over. Their horrified reactions are hilarious.
ReplyDeleteFound you through the A-Z Challenge. Cool blog.
Your daughter will share these stories with her children! She'll probably do some of the same things...
ReplyDeleteHello there! Just came across your blog and glad I did. This post is adorable and had me chuckling the whole way through. Thanks for re-sharing it :)
ReplyDeleteI really like your relationship with your daughter. It's sweet and fun. I have nothing to add, though I think I'll work on a list for her of "Ways to embarrass my mom." Not necessary, huh?
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
I like your blog! I'm following you and I'm also in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. RuthieTootieWishes
ReplyDeleteMy children are now grown, but I took every opportunity to embarrass them (all in good taste of course). When out in public, or when they had friends over, my sense of humor would kick in, and next thing I knew, there I was dancing or singing, or both, or better yet, walking with a limp and talking like an idiot.
ReplyDeleteMade me smile! Thanks. My daughter is teetering on that age...wants to be grown-up, but isn't there yet. Gotta have fun with them!
ReplyDeleteSome excellent advice there ! Will be back for more ! :)
ReplyDeleteRJRDaydreamer
Gosh - I would have HATED my mother at the moment she did something similar to me. But now, looking back ... it would be sooo great to have memories like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, see you at the A-Z Challenge!
taking like an idiot I have under control, guess I need to practise up that limp!
ReplyDeleteA to Z challenge starts tommorrow, can't wait to see everyone!
Robyn, I'd love to see your list
ReplyDeleteI come up with random lines like 'lime, did you say lime???' and insist that it is a phrase that will catch on with all her friends, so I tell them all. She does her 'my mum is such a sad case' headshake. Think I might try some of yours.
ReplyDeleteWagging Tales - Blog for Writers
That's great. I don't think I go out of my way to embarrass my kids, I think it just happens. That's all part of being a mom.
ReplyDeleteWe make fun of our kids all the time too. Hey we figure they better learn to laugh about life.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is fun to keep them on their toes!
ReplyDeleteif I was your daughter I would be mortified of you... but I am not so I am tempted to join you in this shameless singing of Justin Bieber loudly.
ReplyDeleteI love this. We do the same thing to all 4 of our kids.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is to condition them with something *really* embarrassing first. Ours is that whenever they are leaving the house to go somewhere and nobody else is around, we say:
"Good-bye! Have fun. Be a good friend, make good choices. Don't forget to wipe!"
They make a face at us, then leave.
The best part is that later, as you drop them off at school for example, you wait till the door is open and they are dawdling on their way out of the car. Yell loudly:
"Good-bye! Be a good friend! Make good choices!"
Then just take a breath like you are going to throw out the last line and watch them hurl themselves from the car and slam the door behind them.
The airplane thing is fun too. We did that in the car pulling up to the school because our son told us he didn't believe we would do it. Wife and I both put our windows down. Each stuck an arm out the window, and we made LOUD airplane noises as we pulled up in front of everyone. Hilarious.
Thanks for sharing!
--j--