“Seddie! your closet is scattered again?”
I heard Mimi reprimand her brother as she dug through the pile of clothing, searching for his cardigan.
“You will kneel down when you return from school”.
She sighed with a tinge of exasperation and a knowing that the cardigan must be dug out otherwise mum won’t let her be.
Judgment for the erring crew member came swiftly and firmly as pronounced by Chief Judge Mimi, the magistrate in charge of my home court.
I know Mimi hates the mess Seddie sometimes makes of his closet, but how do I explain that Seddie is only a 4-year-old who is yet to master the art of cleaning up after himself.
“I am sorry Mimi” Seddie began in a tearful voice. ” I was looking for….”
“Mimi, please pardon him” I quickly intervened before the tears that were on the brim of his eyelids rolled down.
“Seddie, be careful when next you go searching for an item of clothing or simply ask for help! I scolded with a side smile.
I dare not act unserious in Mimi’s court!
This happened yesterday morning while preparing for school; the sudden change in the weather that morning necessitated the kids dressing appropriately to keep warm.
You may label me ‘the partial mum’, but how do I stand back and watch the baby of my house make a tearful appeal (that may be rejected) to an 11-year-old Judge who is not considerate of the capabilities of the 4-year-old offender.
The memory of this scene made me giggle severally throughout my day.
Parenting is an exciting journey and an everyday learning process in which our actions and inactions are not the only sieve by young but intelligent minds but unconsciously imbibe by their ever-watchful eyes.
Please do not ask where Mimi learned the art of delivering judgment swiftly, firmly, and even lacking emotions. (lol)
To crown my day, I stumbled on another judgment scene later that evening.
With examinations coming up in a few days, my 9-year-old took up the audacious task of revising Seddie’s school work with him. I have watched her a few times, teach, prod, yell and cheer Seddie as he read his lines properly, pronounced his words clearly, and even got his sums right.
That evening, as I made to stretch out beside the ‘teacher and pupil’ patting myself for doing a fantastic job of ‘training the trainer, I got shocked with another Judgement call pronounced on my Seddie. One that would take away Seddie’s favourite relaxation tool – screen time!
“Seddie! you will have no TV time till you are done with your exams, you aren’t paying attention to what I am teaching”
“Iyammi! Abasi mbok!” escaped from my breathe.
Where do I hide my Seddie? How do I prevent him from being preyed upon by these two squad Judges and Jury?
If I were to intervene too often I will be termed as playing favourite, (Am I? – question for another day)
Most of you understand how outspoken kids can be.
I should call for a family meeting this weekend…
What do you advise?
Image Credit – Google
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