When did we start needing to make everything “exciting” so that kids will tolerate it? Why do we have to have hair salons with chairs shaped like ponies and motorcycles? Why does every child sized portion at a restaurant have to come with a toy or a scoop of ice cream? Why do vitamins have to be shaped like elephants or Bob the Builder? Why do some shopping carts now come with on-board DVD players?

News flash kids! I hate to be the one to break it to you, but life is not that interesting. At some point in your life, you have to get used to the boring, the pointless, the frustrating. And its my job to show it to you.

Now, I am not saying that kids need to be raised in a drab and grey adult world. I think that a child’s life should be fun. They should have moments of pure excitement and get to whoop it up. But, I also think they need to understand that these moments are balanced by moments of sheer boredom and that we all have to do things we don’t want to do.

Getting your haircut while riding the motorcycle or getting to ride in the DVD cart should be the exception, not the standard. When kids have too much, they do not appreciate anything. Boredom is a fact of life. Getting dragged to the store is a fact of life. I got dragged to Farm and Fleet as a child. BAGD got dragged to Sears Surplus. We drag our kids to WalMart. No child likes it, that is also a fact of life. Parents need to re-read that last sentence. To clarify: Your kids will be bored when you drag them to the store, but you still need to do it, even if they misbehave. If you don’t you are creating bigger problems for yourself.

See this boy? He did not listen to a word I just said. But I still dragged his heiney to the bank and the post office today.