Do you trust your kids to...

[Amy]

behave accordingly when you are not around? I have three friends who think their kids are polite and respectful and they go on about how rotten some other kids are. I have had these kids by myself at my house and they are anything but polite or respectful! I usually have to bite my tongue when they go off about someone's child.

I am very strict about my kids being polite and respectful to other adults and it got me thinking how my kids act when Im not around. I want to believe that they are angels :), but have really no idea and maybe these parents are biting their tongues as much as I bite mine. LOL


Are you confident that your dk's act wonderful when you are not around?

[Jeff]

I wonder enough to ask how they behaved etc. We always get a good response, but then who knows if they are truthful or just being polite.

[AnnW]

Are you talking manners or fussing/not getting along with the kids. Manner wise, I do think that they are well behaved, I ask, and generally get good responses...sometimes the adult even volunteers that they are good! LOL
As far as always getting along with the friend that is over, I don't expect perfection there. Little girls especially, are a pain! LOL I usually have to referee at least one "Mrs W, DD is not sharing, or MOOOOOOM, Emily is being mean" during a play. We have 3 girls the same age on our street, and by and large they do great, but they are almost like sisters plus a triad is always hard so they fuss.
DS is starting to "test" the sort of silliness/mouthy to adults in front of his friends as a way of showing off, and he gets ratted on if it's too bad, but by and large, I think (hope :) ) that they are both well behaved.


I have a friend like that, Amy, who swears her ds (my ds' age) is just so sweet, considerate blah blah..and he isn't! LOL

[Marla]

I have raised the boys to be extremely polite and well behaved.

I know that at school, they definately are (the teachers would tell me if they weren't) because they teachers always make note of it in their report cards (how respectful and polite they are).

When they go to a friend's house I hope they are acting as they would at school. Oldest DS definately is the "ideal" child as far as manners etc. Youngest DS can get a little more hyper at a friend's house, but I've heard from parents that he is always well behaved.

I truly don't enjoy having kids over who aren't polite and courteous.

[Diane]

LOL... I think they were always polite and respectful... at least that's what everyone (babysitters, teachers... neighbor's) would tell me. :)

In the past I've had a few day care parents who evidently thought that their kids could do no wrong and they'd go on and on and on about how rotten everyone elses kids were and how they didn't like what kind of an influence "those" other kids would have on THEIR child/ren. Ugh!!! THIS came from a parent who's children were probably the worst ones I had in my day care... Ugh!!! It wasn't very easy breaking it to them that THEIR kids were probably not being as well behaved/good as they thought they were. Well... then they get defensive 8o which I suppose I can't really blame them for being, but I guess it's hard hearing that your "oh so perfect kids"... aren't so perfect afterall. Needless to say... nobody's kids are always perfect... their little halo's all get a little crooked now and again... just that some get more crooked a lot/little more often than others. LOL I guess we can only hope and pray that they behave as well away from us as they do when their with us. :)

[RCT]

I do, but yet I always go over the rules before I leave them somehwhere....fortunetly for me....they seem to be good when we are not around....but when dh and I are there, that's when they tend to fall out of line...:lol: I too ask about thier behavior when I come back too....

Funny...I too have a child I see alot who everyone thinks is wonderfully mannered....and I know the truth....:)

[kat]

I get this all the time at school. "But my little Johnny never acts like that at home" and as a result they can't believe he would act that way at school. Teachers don't make that up so they can force a confrontational issue with parents. I think even the most well behaved child will act differently occassionally away from parents. Why even my little angel was caught in detention the other day. His flip first response was that I couldn't expect him to be perfect all the time. He was there for bombing an English paper. I am lucky that his teachers all report good behavior but do I really believe he's always perfect? No. I would hope that if he is really bad that someone would tell me.

[KarlaB]

I actually think so far my kids have been better for others than they are for us! LOL! My youngest is a little monkey, but when my mom or sister has him he is on his best behavior...he just saves it all up for when he gets back home, so we get it triple time! LOL! I am sure there will be times that they will pull something and think they can get away with it, but so far we haven't had to deal with it....that's not to say it can't and won't change!! :)

[kat]

Originally posted by KarlaB
I actually think so far my kids have been better for others than they are for us! LOL! My youngest is a little monkey, but when my mom or sister has him he is on his best behavior...he just saves it all up for when he gets back home, so we get it triple time! LOL! I am sure there will be times that they will pull something and think they can get away with it, but so far we haven't had to deal with it....that's not to say it can't and won't change!! :)

Karla, this is another one I get often - not as often as the other though. Parents will be so surprized when I tell them I don't have any problems with their child. Actually my own youngest ds would fall in this category. He doesn't behave badly much at all (that I know of), but when he is at his worst it is usually around me.

[JeannieOR]

I know I can always trust my ds to be well behaved alway from home. He's the type of kid who saves all his misbehavior for his parents. However, I always cross my fingers when I drop my dd off. It's true she can be an Angel :angel: ...but the less she knows someone, the more likely she is to challenge their authority. Some of my friends love having her over because she keeps their kids occupied and some have declared they will never watch her again.

[Jeff]

Originally posted by kat


Karla, this is another one I get often - not as often as the other though. Parents will be so surprized when I tell them I don't have any problems with their child. Actually my own youngest ds would fall in this category. He doesn't behave badly much at all (that I know of), but when he is at his worst it is usually around me.

Our kids show their true colors around home too. But then so does dw and I. I always ask because I know what they are capable of LOL.

[Diane]

Originally posted by kat


Karla, this is another one I get often - not as often as the other though. Parents will be so surprized when I tell them I don't have any problems with their child. Actually my own youngest ds would fall in this category. He doesn't behave badly much at all (that I know of), but when he is at his worst it is usually around me.

I've got a few kids in my day care who are SOOOO good... but when their parents come to pick them up at the end of the day, it's like they grow these real ugly horns... and are SOOO bad. (yelling/screaming, hitting, kicking their parents) It darn near put me in shock the first time I saw any of them do this because I NEVER see them act this badly. LOL Their parents look sympatheticly at me as if this is what I've had to put up with all day... and some will go so far as to tell me how they don't understand how I can stand listening to and taking care of these kids like this all day. I swear... they don't believe me when I tell them that their kids have been absolutely perfect all day long. LOL They save/store it up for their parents for their evening entertainment. :(

Diane... :wave:

[KarlaB]

Originally posted by Diane P.


I've got a few kids in my day care who are SOOOO good... but when their parents come to pick them up at the end of the day, it's like they grow these real ugly horns... and are SOOO bad. (yelling/screaming, hitting, kicking their parents) It darn near put me in shock the first time I saw any of them do this because I NEVER see them act this badly. LOL Their parents look sympatheticly at me as if this is what I've had to put up with all day... and some will go so far as to tell me how they don't understand how I can stand listening to and taking care of these kids like this all day. I swear... they don't believe me when I tell them that their kids have been absolutely perfect all day long. LOL They save/store it up for their parents for their evening entertainment. :(

Diane... :wave:

My mom has a few dcks like that, too! One little girl actually runs and hides when her mom pulls up, so they have to try to find her to get her to go home! 8o

[KarlaB]

Originally posted by kat


Karla, this is another one I get often - not as often as the other though. Parents will be so surprized when I tell them I don't have any problems with their child. Actually my own youngest ds would fall in this category. He doesn't behave badly much at all (that I know of), but when he is at his worst it is usually around me.

Youngest ds has a night class with dh and he is as quiet as can be the entire time he is there....this somber little child who barely utters a peep.....until he walks back in our house and then he's jumping, giggling, dancing, running all around and being just plain silly! :crazyroll All of that energy he saved up in the 2 hours he was gone comes out full force! LOL! There is a little room where parents can sometimes observe the kids and we are always amazed at how quiet he is! :) Isn't it funny how they save the "best" for us? LOL! Actually, I'd rather be the one to deal with it rather than have someone else go nutty! ;)