Whilst walking down the toiletries isle in our local supermarket, I looked from right to left, left to right searching for sensitive-teeth toothpaste for my daughter. In the background I could hear a mother chatting with her young son of about three years of age. She was asking him what sort of toothbrush he wanted. I thought how lovely it was she was seeking his opinion. Initially she asked him if he wanted a sparky blue one. The boy responded with "Yes Mummy". Then she asked him if he wanted the green one that feels like jelly instead. The boy again responded with "Yes Mummy". She then proceeded to ask him if he wanted one that glows in the dark. The poor boy again answered with "Yes Mummy". She again asked him if he wanted the one that glows in the dark. By the time I reached the end of the isle she had asked him at least five times (I stopped counting after that!).
It was enough to test the patience of a saint. I kept walking down the isle and finally reached its end and went on to collect the rest of my shopping. About ten minutes later I realised that I had forgotten the toothpaste. I quickly pulled (and pushed and tugged!) the trolley back to the toiletries isle once again. You would never guess who was still standing there asking her tired and now half-asleep son if he was sure about the glow-in-the-dark toothbrush. It was enough to make me want to scream! And definitely no comment here on my aspirations to be a clinical psychologist...
Photo is of my 9 months old niece, Sara (or, whom we lovingly refer to as Miss Peaches!).
19 comments:
Way too many choices for anybody.
Patience is a virtue I do not possess but then maybe I can see why it is not all that it's cracked up to be. Thanks for making me smile.
I can see why that would make you scream, I would want to say "just make the choice for him, he's only 3!".
lakeviewer: Well stated! If I had that many choices I too would fall asleep!
Jane: Glad I could put a smile on your dial!
notSupermum: Believe me I wanted to say something too...I just felt so sorry for that poor child.
AAARGH!!!!!
HAHA I remember when there was just toilet paper too! Now you get super strong, super soft, super big, super super big... They have done it with everything! Part of the reason I HATE TO GO TO THE GROCERY LOL
Maybe if you stuck around a few minutes longer he'd have screamed: STOP ASKING ME THAT. I WANT TO LIVE WITH DADDY AND HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND.
I feel more sorry for the child in this story than I do for the mom. She will make him a nervous wreck before he graduates high school. wb
That would have been a 10 second trip for me. In fact, why ask the poor kid at all. Pick a pretty one and take it home. Surprise, look at the brush I got you honey. Yes, Mommy. Thank you, Mommy. Wow, the time that could be saved! Makes me sad for the spud. Not necessarily for that one trip, but maybe for his ENTIRE LIFE!
Quick psycho-babble... the mom is lonely, doesn't get a lot of adult interaction, finds herself surrounded by adults, doesn't know quite how to act she's been doing baby stuff for so long, so overdoes everything. Kid is clueless, hasn't seen his mom act this way since... well the last time they went to a public place and she asked him which stamp she should pull out of the postal machine.
Molecules that are observed change their behavior. People who are observed also change their behavior.
I got way too much sleep last night... sorry.
Poor little tyke. Sounds to me like Mommy needs some training in decision making herself.
Wish I could get my hands on Peaches. She's a cutie.
Darla
Sara is too cute for words. That is funny about the mother and the toothbrush. I try to get Kaishon's opinion on things when I can, but that is just SILLY!
I have seen and heard similar circumstances. Some parents are ridiculous! You describe it well.
Your niece IS a peach, a real cutie!
That particular mother is nothing but a saint herself. I really respect somebody who asked for people's opinion. And to ask several times to make sure is a sign that she does care for the choice.
Wish there are more people like that in the world.
so her son is going to brush his teeth in the dark? Brilliant!!!
Whoo! Such moms bring up sure-to-be-indecisive and neurotic children!
Loved the previous posts (paint-misadventure, poem on the child, Paris photo) as well.
And Sara sure is peachy!
What a beautiful baby is your Sara!!! You made me laugh a lot with your story! Ciao. A.
that lady needs a lesson on giving choices - A or B not A, B, C, D or E. Yikes. I'm surprised you didn't say something. I wouldn't have showed so much restraint!
Natalie: Indeed!
Boots: That is a good point you raise! Too much choice is not necessarily a good thing sometimes.
♥ Braja: I would have picked up two, presented them to him and asked him which one did he liked. But that would've been it.
FrankandMary: Love your twist on it!
Warren Baldwin: I agree with you. To have him sitting in the shopping trolley for at least 15 minutes trying to convince him that one is better than the rest when he wasn't even interested is
sad for this child.
G. Coppard: Wow, if you could write this analysis after much sleep, good on you. I loved your interpretation. Beats a migraine, which is what I get when I oversleep!
see you there: Sara is getting cuter by the day. If this was her she would have grabbed all the toothbrushes!
Life with Kaishon: Thank you. Kaishon is old enough I am sure to make a decision as far as toothbrush is concerned.
Suko: Thank you so much!
Shadowthorne: Thank you so much for a completely different interpretation. It makes for such an interesting argument when someone comes up with a different take on it. By the same token she had the poor little boy, sitting in a shopping trolley no less, head nodding with sleeplessness, and asking him the same question for 15 minutes. That is why I was concerned.
Roshni Mitra Chintalapati: And clean teeth to boot!
Sucharita Sarkar: I am sure she loves her child but I too was concerned.
Thank you for your comments re my previous posts and Sara...much appreciated!
lunarossa: Thank you so much. Glad to cheer you up!
Kim: I completely agree, A or B not all choices. I felt so sorry for the child and in a way for the mum so I thought it better to stay quiet.
And I thought the point of cute brushes was to encourage brushing....bet that kid never wants to see another brush as long as he lives! Great observation!
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