Quit It, Stop It, and Knock It Off?

I have to take a break here and tell you about the kids

Quit it, Stop It, and Knock It Off! 

My name is Mean It.

It never fails. The day goes by and I have repeated these phrases at one or all of my children. If one of them is behaving the others are into or up to something. I have to shout, QUIT IT! Stop IT, and KnoCk it OFF!!! at one point or another. Sometimes I ask them which one they are. They like these discussions. It reminds me of the cartoon Family Circus with the little ghost *I Don't Know* that floats around causing trouble.

We have means of addressing our kids that aren't very healthy for their confidence or building their self-esteem. I have heard parents direct hateful messages toward these impressionable minds. Meet these children as adults and they are probably suffering some kind of personality disorder from these marks on their spirit. Therapists make millions trying to reverse the damage.

I recognize where damage has been ingrained in my reactions. I do not blame my parent for the way they raised me but there are residual effects from my early years. I am still striving to do the best I can and when I do I am waiting to be in trouble for it. That my efforts weren't the correct ones or something along that line. I have realized this was from the way communication was addressed in our family home. Everything was a fight or a reason to share angry words. The tension of walking around with the potential of causing problems was thick.

Sunflowers ~ Image: MorgueFile

Quit it, stop it, and knock it off were also my siblings when I was younger.

Along with myself, there were 5 other kids in our home and it was a big weight on our parents. They had to both work to support the family. 6 kids are a big lot to feed. They are even tougher to discipline. My brothers came along one by one 9 to 10 months apart when I was about 8. They ran the house like little wild monkeys! My sister was only a year and a half younger than I so we used to be best friends for about 2 hours then be bickering brats the next. I am sure this added to the aggravations my parents felt.

I will out of respect for Mom and Dad not include some of the darker moments in our home life. There were no moments of inappropriate contact but there were physical confrontations at times.

We were a crowded home. Sharing rooms created arguments. Little children are curious and tend to wander where they are not supposed to be and cause issues. My brothers were definitely into everything!

A regular fight would brake out when one of the boys would find my sunflower seed shell bag and either dump it out or try to eat the shells. Mom would be furious! The irony of this is she has a backyard full of sunflower plants now that grew out of nowhere!

Some of the times we had were great. One of our favorite things to do was go outside and dig in the yard. Mom is still finding things and toys we buried out there. She uncovered a Barbie not too long ago.

I look back on those days and wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in the home instead of running into the dark...