Having Children Is Like
Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain or, having children will turn you into your parents.
Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain or, having children will turn you into your parents.
If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anybody else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
- Sales person: Hello, may I speak to the man of the house please?
- Youngster: (whispering) No, he's busy.
- Sales person: Well then, can I please speak to your mother?
- Youngster: (in a whisper) She's busy too.
- Sales person: I see, how about your brother or sister? Can I speak to him?
- Youngster: (whispering) No. They're both busy too.
- Sales person: (losing patience) Is there anybody else there I could talk to???
- Youngster: (in a whisper) Yeah, the police are here...but they are busy too....
- Sales person: (by now quite exasperated) What are all these people doing that keeps them so busy?!!!
- Youngster: (still whispering) Looking for me.
A boy was taking care of his baby sister while his parents went to town shopping. He decided to go fishing and he had to take her along.
- I'll never do that again! - he told his mother that evening.
- I didn't catch a thing!
- Oh, next time I'm sure she'll be quiet and not scare the fish away - his mother said.
The boy said:
- It wasn't that. She ate all the bait!
In the sleepy city of Sherrill, N.Y., two unsuspecting adults have found themselves the objects of sleep deprivation research.
James Harden is currently in his tenth month of his study. His subjects, Debbie and Dennis Harden, have tried to foil his research to no avail. "Ferber" has failed and so has "The Family Bed."
Young James conducts his studies by awakening in the wee hours of the morning, standing up in his crib, and screaming at the top of his lungs. Sometimes, a backrub from Mom will put him back to sleep; but at other times, it takes the formula ritual. Sometimes James is actually hungry but most of the time he just wants to check how his research is going.
Just how far has he gone? Last week, James woke up too early; his parents were still up watching David Letterman. Dennis looked at his lovely wife and said:
- I can't take this. I'm going to bed.
Debbie responded:
- If you do that, I will kill you in your sleep.
Dennis went to get the baby.
Any non-Ferber advice or even sympathetic anecdotes are being requested by these strung-out parents. All other babies James age in this area actually sleep through the night and have done so since they were 2 days old. Or their parents are outright liars.
Walking down the street, a man passes a house and notices a little boy trying to reach the doorbell. No matter how much the little guy stretches, he can't make it.
The man calls out:
- Let me get that for you - and he bounds onto the porch to ring the bell.
- Thanks, mister - says the kid.
- Now let's run!
A little girl asked her mother:
- Can I go outside and play with the boys?
Her mother replied:
- No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough!
The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked:
- If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?
Ever notice that the laws of household physics are every bit as real as every other law in the universe? Here are a few examples:
A mother was having dinner with her two young children when her three year old daughter asked her why there were two holes in your nose.
Her four year old son quickly responded with:
- So you can still breath when you pick your nose!