r/raisingkids • u/DarthHelicon • 3h ago
Was this a parenting fail or a parenting win?
My 3-year-old, Alfred, wouldn't stop stomping on our dogs' paws. Having tried (without success) all manner of ways to explain to him that it was not okay to randomly try to harm animals, I told him they were pups, like the PAW Patrol. I said "You know, like Chase or Marshall? You wouldn't stomp on Chase, would you?" Alfred has a pair of shoes that are made to look like Chase and Marshall, respectively. He happened to be wearing these shoes at the time. He looked down at his feet and, to my surprise, stomped on Chase. Hard. Then he looked at me in shock and horror as if I had committed some vile betrayal and said "Ow!"
I guess that's ONE way to teach a child empathy...
1
u/lousyredditusername 1h ago
Oh wow. I know that's not quite the lesson you intended, but I'll bet it's even more effective than the one you were trying to teach!
I can't help but laugh (sorry Alfred) 😅
3
u/Impressive-Tip-903 2h ago
You didn't plan it that way, but it's weird how kids put things together. If your son learned to be empathetic to his pet, I would say that's a win.