Saturday, March 15, 2008

CULTURE/SOCIETY: When and When Not to Say I Love You with a Tween Daughter

This is from me, not reprinted from somewhere else. - OlderMusicGeek.

A while back, my daughter and I were running late. I dropped her off at her school's front door. As she ran out of the door, I yelled, “Bye, I love you!”

My daughter ran to the front door, but stopped half way, walked back to the car, and knocked on the window.

Thinking she forgot something, I lean over and open her door. I look at her quizzically.

She leans her head, looks at me, and says, “Um, yeah... I would appreciate if you wouldn't yell that.”

Then she closed the door and headed back to school.


But I found this can be used to my advantage.

My daughter and I were in a store and got into a kicking fight. I had had enough and told her so – of course, after I got in the last kick! :)

My daughter, obviously, did not want to leave it there and tried to kick me again.

I told her, “If you kick me one more time, I'm taking you to the front of the store, giving you a big hug and telling everyone here just how much I love you!”

She put her hands up in surrender, stepped back and said, “Okay, okay, I'm done!”

A man next to us laughed when he heard that.


Unfortunately, I found that this is practiced with sexual discrimination.

When I pick my daughter up at her mother's, she is always shouting, “Bye, Mom, I love you.” And her mother yells back that she loves her too.

So I asked her why her mother can yell I love you, but I can't.

“Yeah.... That's because she's Mom and you're Dad.”

“So just because she's Mom, she can yell I love you and hug you?”

“Well, not in public!”

So apparently there is a limit even for Mom!


Oh, and my darling daughter, if you're reading this,

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And big hugs to you too!

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