Community Chat

[bluecat2]

Just something on my mind...

Yesterday I took my son (2 1/2) to the park. He met a little boy his age and started playing. They gathered pinecones (they each had 2) and would take turns handing them back and forth to each other. Meanwhile his mom and I chatted nearby. Anyway, my son, I guess, had enough of the game and wanted his pinecones for himself, so he said "no" when the little boy tried to take them. I corrected my son and told him to share. The mom of the little boy said to me he doesn't have to share, he said "no" and that is fine. BTW this was all said nicely (I was not offended...lol) I told her that we were trying to instill the concept of sharing etc since he had a new sibling at home. She told me that she can be opinionated etc. But I truly took no offense to her comments to me, she seemed like a nice person.

Anyway, it got me thinking. I am a people pleaser. I am getting better as I get older, but I know one thing for sure, I do not want my kids to be like me! I would like them to be kind and considerate, but I don't want them doing things they don't want to do so others will "like them".

So, I've been thinking about what this mom said and maybe the next time, I will let my son just have his pinecones

What do you think? Where's the line between being "nice" and being a people pleaser?