copy cat

The other day I found myself shouting at Sam to "STOP SCREAMING AT ME". It is at this point that I had to take a deep breath and realize whose behaviour it was that my kid was modelling. There is no doubt about the impact our actions, attitudes and mannerisms have on our kids. I have read that the single largest influence on a child is their same sex parent. My husband and I have talked before about what a great responsibility this is, and certainly how knowing the influence you have helps you to be a better person. I have also read before that you should never marry someone if they have qualities you wouldn't want to see in your kids. Sam looks just like me, but boy he wants to be just like his daddy.

When I was pregnant with Sam, the first thing Erik bought was a ball. He had big ideas about the passion he would instil for all things game. Sam could sit and "play ball" long before he could do anything else. There are at least 20 balls in my house; each one has its purpose. I know this because I often "hide" them hoping they will not notice, I make a pact that if the ball is MIA unnoticed for a few days it will secretly make its way to the garbage...this has never happened.

I take Sam to watch his dad play basketball every week. He loves it and wants to do everything that the big men do. I have caught him wiping the sweat (in his case it is likely a boogieJ) off of his face on his shirt. The other day I bought Sam a treat...two pair of basketball shorts with matching "muscle" shirts, just like the big men wear. Unfortunately I didn't anticipate the impact this would have. Sam is soo happy. He tells me every day, right before he demands to wear his basket ball outfit. It has been 6 days, he has yet to wear anything else. The kicker is that when he sees his dad play ball, all the "big men" are wearing socks. Sam MUST wear socks too, long white socks pulled up to his knees. I have to plead and beg and promise to bring the socks with us to get him to leave the house without him.

As I mentioned, I bought him TWO outfits. This was working out well, as we alternated each day. But then Sam realized something, his daddy often changed outfits when playing basketball, a light shirt for a dark shirt kindof thing. Well, Sam now wants to switch teams periodically during the day. Blue for red, red for blue. Is this a battle worth fighting....not likely. So, should you see a 2 year old in the park with basketball shorts to below his knees, socks pulled up past his knees, a muscle shirt and his hat on backwards, please know this is not my idea of trendy dressing. And should that two year old start to strip down, and change his colors, please know he is just switching teams and in his eyes he is just like his daddy and all the other "big" men out there.