Lady Mind

The parent relegated responsibilities to the nanny. This was their son and as such, they were primarily responsible for his behavior. I wonder what took place after the mass. Scenarios would include:
one, the parents scold the child. But by then, the child would have forgotten what happened inside the church, and it would be no use to “nag” about that. Two, the parents scold the nanny for not being able to “control” the child — but that would be unfairly transferring the responsibility to the nanny I just hope that the parent would start communicating with the child.
Play with the child, take time out to take care of the child (give the nanny a break!), read to the child, watch TV with him, get a puppet and reenact the church scene so that the child can see himself and how his behavior affected others. All these done with tender loving care. If the younger brother mimics the older brother, then it is likely that the older brother’s behavior has never been corrected before. If the child is generally active and would rather play than stay seated at church - services, it is best to keep the child at home or with his peer group during Sunday services. Thus, the solemnity of the Sunday mass is respected.

Friends and Family. People value friendship and family ties. Friends and family help define who we are, warm us with affection, and make the world a less lonely place. The importance of these needs is demonstrated by the intense feelings of homesickness many people develop when they move away from the support of family and friends. They may feel isolated, diminished, or uprooted, and may even develop physical illnesses.
In an era that advocates strengthening “family values,” it is not surprising that we heard many speeches like Marie D’Aniello’s tribute to her family. Other speakers praised the importance of both traditional and nontraditional families. The importance of family can express itself in traditions and rituals.

Where in the world were their parents all this time? Why were the boys just left with the nanny who struggled to control the two? It was like chasing mice! The boy would slip from her hands only to irritate other people. One then begins to wonder how far we should allow our children to “be free and curious”. Another relevant question here is, who teaches the child about “respect for others”? Is it the parent or the nanny?
“If I were the parent, I would have spanked the kid or taken him outside for a scolding. . .“ — this must have been a thought that ran through the minds of the church goers. Unfortunately, that would have been
easier said than done. The kid himself vehemently refused to budge from his place, until the priest himself took him aside. Apparently, the parents allowed the child to move about freely during the mass as he tried on 2 separate occasions to get near the overhead projector, with no one holding him back.
Curiosity is a normal thing for young children and sometimes even for the old. But the old can wait, young ones usually can’t. They have to touch and even smell what piques their curiosity. Did his parents ever communicate with their child? It looked like it was the nanny who was responsible for the child. For such a situation, the parent should have come forward and pulled the child gently aside.

There was this child at Sunday mass, about 4 or 5 years old, who was very curious about the overhead projector. When the projector was lighted with the lyrics of the mass hymn, this boy would run to the machine and look curiously. Before long, he was touching the knobs and de-focusing the projector.
Two Sundays later, the boy did the same thing, this time touching the transparency. It was no longer funny or cute to me, the on looker. When it was time for communion and people were lining up, he insisted on staying in front of the priest and not budging at all. His poor nanny tried to grab hold of him, which only made the boy more insistent, even shouting at her.
I managed to come close enough to the nanny and told her to “just let the boy go”. It did help for a while, but not for long as the boy went up front and faced the priest. This time, the priest, now visibly irritated, held the boy on the shoulder and brought him to the side. It was only then that this curious boy stayed by the steps of the altar sulking and refusing to go with his nanny. What happened next was his younger brother, dressed in the same colored T-shirt, came up front and made a “scene” too. Two in the family — that’s a lot to handle!