This morning Marin came down to breakfast in a foul mood.
Me: "Marin, why are you so upset?"
Marin: "Mama said 'Ooohhh, you're hair looks soooo nice today'.
Me: "Why is that upsetting? Mama is telling you how pretty you are."
Marin: "No, Daddy. Her words were nice, but her tone was mean. She wasn't telling me the truth. She was teasing me. Grown ups do that all the time. They think they are tricking kids but we no for real when they are being mean."
Wow. That was a mouthful. Even though Colleen was being sincere (I learned afterward), the fact that Marin faces sarcasm so often, and has now caught on to it, has compromised her ability to differentiate sincerity from sarcasm. I am really bummed by this. Colleen and I took the anti-sarcasm pledge. The most difficult challenge will be another close relative - who has a highly acid tongue even when she is being sweet.
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3 comments:
oh ya-- that is a hard one for me two. Thanks for the reminder.
I love/ admire how expressive your children are.
Sarcasm= veiled anger and an inability to adress- such a smart girl you have. Truly.
We're a pretty sarcastic family. It's been interesting in the last year or two to watch my 10 year old try to navigate the line between sarcasm and cruelty. Between humor and sass. It certainly makes me thing about my tone and, well... toning down the sarcasm.
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