The Humor in It
My daughter is learning her multiplication tables.
Well, I take that back. My daughter is supposed to be learning her multiplication tables, but all she really has been learning is how to test my last nerve.
I absolutely hate to hear my daughter say things like, "I'm not good at math." For one thing I think it sets up a lifetime of missed opportunities and unfortunate expectations. For another, it plays in to the world's worst kinds of gender stereotypes.
The truth is that she's a decent math student. She just psyches herself out.
But these multiplication tables have been a bit of a stumbling block. She understands the concept but refuses to memorize facts. She still counts out every answer, mostly on her fingers. So my husband and I decided to follow our instincts and be the militant kind of parents we really are at heart. We're drilling her.
And she's crying. And crying, and crying, and crying. It got to the point where she was sobbing out answers. My husband and I just had to laugh. We had to! At some point you just have to see the humor in it.
Of course this only made her cry more. "Stop...(sob sob)...laughing...(sob sob)...at...(sob sob)...me!"
We apologized but also explained how we felt. As a parent you have to have a sense of humor. Without it we'd never get through having our kids whip their clothes off at inopportune moments, or pee in Santa's lap, or tell their whole class about how mommy snores.
And without humor we'd never get through these times. Not even two times two.
Well, I take that back. My daughter is supposed to be learning her multiplication tables, but all she really has been learning is how to test my last nerve.
I absolutely hate to hear my daughter say things like, "I'm not good at math." For one thing I think it sets up a lifetime of missed opportunities and unfortunate expectations. For another, it plays in to the world's worst kinds of gender stereotypes.
The truth is that she's a decent math student. She just psyches herself out.
But these multiplication tables have been a bit of a stumbling block. She understands the concept but refuses to memorize facts. She still counts out every answer, mostly on her fingers. So my husband and I decided to follow our instincts and be the militant kind of parents we really are at heart. We're drilling her.
And she's crying. And crying, and crying, and crying. It got to the point where she was sobbing out answers. My husband and I just had to laugh. We had to! At some point you just have to see the humor in it.
Of course this only made her cry more. "Stop...(sob sob)...laughing...(sob sob)...at...(sob sob)...me!"
We apologized but also explained how we felt. As a parent you have to have a sense of humor. Without it we'd never get through having our kids whip their clothes off at inopportune moments, or pee in Santa's lap, or tell their whole class about how mommy snores.
And without humor we'd never get through these times. Not even two times two.
Labels: challenges, family, kids, parenting, school
posted by Major Mom at 7:52 PM
Karen is a military wife and stay-at-home mother to a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. A Boston native who’s lived in the Shreveport-Bossier area for eight years, she spends most of her time volunteering at her kids’ school, supporting her husband, playing with her friends and watching her hair turn gray. In between, she writes about her life here on her blog.
2 Comments:
I know what you mean, when my oldest daughter was learning her tables I thought I was going to lose my mind. It often ended with her in tears. My youngest daughter just started and it hasn't been to bad, but she wants to learn them. If you figure an easy way without all the frustration I still have one more to go.
If I figure out an easy way I'm going to write a book and make a million dollars. ;-)
Good luck with yours!
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