The Punish List

A list of the things that I used to get in trouble for as a child and now punish my kids for...

1. Leaving lights on. I never really understood the cost of light bulbs and electricity as a child, thought my step-dad was insane for going crazy over them being left on but now it's not even the money that bothers me, it's the fact that it's just plain annoying and lazy that they are left on. Yet, I wonder if that's maybe what got his goat too and we just use money as the excuse to punish since it's much more practical and kids can't argue with that.

2. Tipping your chair at the dinner table. I used to have to sit on the washing machine as a kid if I tipped my chair back. I don't make my kids do that, mostly because the washer is in the basement and it's just plain nasty down there, but it still ticks me off and I get a little fussy about it.

3. Putting your hair back at dinner. This one used to send my Grandpa Neuman into a tizzy if the girls didn't have their hair back at dinner. One loose hair on the table or in the food and Grandpa's dinner was o-v-e-r. My daughter hates me for making her pull her hair back before eating...I however hate watching her eat hair for dinner...I cooked dammit!

4. Clean your room. I mean, this is probably every child in the world...rarely do they clean their rooms, and as a child we are pretty creative at finding good excuses as to why it should just stay messy, including but not limited to "I can find stuff easier", "it's MY room, why do you care", and "if you stop looking at it then you won't care if it's dirty". However, as a mom I find myself answering with the one standard response that must be passed from generation to generation, which is "It's my house, I pay for it, this room is not yours, you just borrow it until you are 18 and move out...when you are 18, not a day later."

5. Move away from the TV. I swear there isn't a day that goes by that I don't walk into the living room and say "move back from the TV". WHY do kids sit so close? I don't get it. Not sure if it really does hurt their eyes, but just to be safe we mine as well yell at'em about it. Hell, we heard it so it must be true.

So yeah, what goes around comes around and although I hate to admit that, I take comfort in knowing that my children will one day be in this same boat and I won't feel so horrible about the lessons I've learned and taught...I turned out pretty good.