Do you know where your children are?

A friend was telling me about a story in the news of two 15 year old boys who were stabbed while walking around late at night. The first thing she said was, "Why were they allowed to walk around at night?" My thoughts exactly. Where were these boy's parents keeping them home and safe? Why were they allowed to roam the streets late at night (the attack happened around 10:30pm)? Why did their parents not know or care where they were?

I want vs can I please have

Child: "I want (insert item)."
Parent: "I want 1 million dollars delivered by Keanu Reeves but that's not going to happen."

Point: you can't always get what you want.

I was out and about shopping and I heard a little girl in a stroller whine to her mum, "I want juice!" She whinged and cried and demanded a particular colour while the mum tried to keep her happy and comply.

Such a rude disrespectful way to speak to your parents. 'I want' is a demand no child should be making. It's even worse when the parent responds with ok, alright or yes. This only reinforces the child's belief they're allowed to be demanding and get everything they want.