I am such a brat.
My life is amazing and I am blessed in so many ways. And yet lately I find myself feeling irritated and getting frustrated over small stuff.
Thinking this over I realise that it most often occurs when I am not getting my own way. See? Brat.
Honestly, if my kids behaved this way I'd be telling them to get over it and giving them a talk about resilience.
I do have control issues. It's hard for me because in my professional life control is an asset - detail oriented I think they call it. I'm all over it. Checking the details, following up on tasks delegated. I've been called a control freak - and taken it as a compliment.
But I'm slowly realising that in my personal life, in my parenting life, the need to control the behaviour of others is not a great quality.
Little kids are annoying. They don't listen, they don't pick up after themselves and they don't eat their meals in a civilised and timely fashion. And this can be extremely irritating.
When my kids don't behave I worry that they are becoming brats, but perhaps I should be more concerned about my own bratty behaviour. After all a four year old having a tantrum is pretty standard. A forty year old, not so much.
Perhaps I can harness the power of my desire to control. But instead of trying to control the way my children behave, put more focus on controlling my own response to frustrating situations.
And in doing so I might teach my children the really important lesson, how to concern themselves less with the actions of others and take responsibility for their own behaviour.
Do you ever behave like a brat?
