Probably on account of hearing it so much when I was growing up, I like to have an alternative to "Because I said so."
Around here, we like to say "Because I am arbitrary and capricious."
How about you?
Alternatives.
—
|
8 comments on Alternatives.
Comments
8 responses to “Alternatives.”
-
Honestly? My answer was, “obey me, and then come back and I’ll tell you ‘why’.”
They never came back. I was bitterly disappointed, as I actually HAD good reasons! I would have been happy to explain my reasons. I asked my daughter about this, after she’d grown up. Little blighter!
“Because by the time I’d done it, I’d figured out why, and I didn’t want to give you the satisfaction.”LikeLike
-
That is a MUCH more interesting response than “Because I said so.”
Remind me to use it sometime.
Oh, and I thought of you a lot today. Much of the key note speaker’s educational philosophy seemed so much in tune with yours…made me want to spend the day and chat.
The co-op’s getting the CDs, I think!LikeLike
-
Although I appreciate that the things I may ask my kid to do seem arbitrary and capricious, they aren’t, and that is the point. If there wasn’t a reason for me to ask her to do something I wouldn’t ask. I just don’t think that a nearly 5 year old can get sarcasm. Am I missing something here?
LikeLike
-
“Because my sole goal in life is to make your life miserable.”
I know I really SHOULD use the “Obey, and then ask me why.”LikeLike
-
@ChristyP: I don’t know if I would call it “sarcasm,” the way we (mostly Mark) says it. Definitely some gentle teasing involved, though.
“Am I missing something here?”
Here are three things about the “arbitrary and capricious” line that aren’t obvious.
(1) I have kids who are older than five (remember, my oldest is almost eleven) and who “get” a little bit of ironic humor now and again. It would probably be lost on my near-five-year-old too.
(2) I’m the one who tends to say “Do it first and then come back and ask me why.” By the time they’re almost-eight and almost-eleven, they’ve heard me say that a lot. So in some circumstances I think it functions as a “hm, I think you asked that question in the wrong context” reminder.
(3) Sometimes it’s not even ironic, but is true. As in questions like “Why do I have to do it instead of my brother?” or “Why did you tell me to fetch the cookies that he likes instead of the cookies that I like?”LikeLike
-
“to try to confuse you”
“to teach you to obey”
“obey first, I’ll explain later”
“it’s a secret”
“because I’m the worst mother in the world”
And I can’t think of the other ones. I feel sure I’ve blamed it on instructions from my alien overlords, but maybe not yet.LikeLike
bearing blog 