Please? Not being a brat at the park.

We were at Elmwood Park last Sunday for Earth Day, with about 50,000 other children. As usual, I was trying not to be a control/fear freak as I let Ian wander into the writhing, chaotic mass of kid-ness crawling over the playground. (He usually seems so big to me, but so little when there are so many children of various ages. I swear, one kid had a mustache). I calmly watched him from a bit of a distance, but then had to follow in once he went to that shadowed area UNDER the equipment bridges, etc. Who really knows what goes on down there? Are there mini-bullies or kids peddling their leftover Ritalin? No other parent’s venture in there, so I thought I’d be proactive. I came upon Ian patiently standing next to an older child with a small plastic spade. This child furiously shoveled and dumped sand while other hoolig— I mean, children, vainly tried to pick it up with their hands. I saw the look in my son eye. He is a sand shoveling FREAK. (Woodchips, actually, from our favorite park. Anyway…) I expected to see him lunge at this child and make a mad grab for the spade. I know he’s not afraid of other kids, even bigger ones; however, he stood there, pointing at the spade, saying his customary query: “Pweeeze?? Pweeze??” I was so proud, of both my son and wife. Sarah pioneered teaching him to say please and not giving him what he wants until he says it. She also conditioned me to do the same (Good Monkey, Matt…) Rather than yell and scream and whine for the spade, he simply and patiently asked for it. Granted, the kid ignored him, but that didn’t matter. Now I do not intend to imply that Ian is perfectly behaved all the time, or ALWAYS says please and never whines. Trust me, I’ve heard plenty of screeching. But, in this teeming mass of children in the sand, where “might makes right”, he remained patient and did not give in to chaos. Certainly a moment to be proud of.