You can tell the m never to take things from a stranger.Does that
mean they shouldn't accept a cookie from the sweet old lady down the
street who wanted to repay your son for getting the mail for her? Is
she a stranger? Because he doesn't know her well and because I don't
know her well, that makes her a stranger. Not a bad stranger, but if
you can't tell the difference, they're all bad strangers, right?
You can tell your kid to listen to and respect their teachers,
the principal and other adults. But all teachers, principals and
other adults are strangers, and some are even bad strangers. So what
can you do to protect your children? Which person should they go to
when they get lost in the mall or wander away with some other couple
because they forgot to look up before they started following them?
I tell my kids to look for another mom.
"Well, how can I tell if the lady is another mom?" they'll ask.
"They are the ladies who are half-pulling, half-dragging a trio
of children through a crowded parking lot. One's probably in a
stroller, gumming the handle of mom's purse, and another one is
stuffed under her armpit and is kicking his feet and screaming his
head off."
"But what if she didn't bring her kids with her?"
I thought about that for a minute. I would move heaven and earth
not to bring my children with me on a shopping expedition. I imagine
there are other like-minded "good stranger"-type moms out there as
well. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the ones who do
bring their children are either doing some kind of penance, or there
really is something not quite right about them.
[to top of second column]
 |
 OK, so what does a "good stranger" mom look like if she doesn't
have her children with her?
Well, let's see. She'll most likely look exhausted, with big,
dark circles under her eyes. She'll have permanent milk stains on
the shoulder of her coat from a baby drooling. Her grocery list or
some other reminder might be written on the back of her hand in
purple washable marker.
She may have an extra-large purse with a pull-up pant sticking
out of the top. The purse, of course, will not match her shoes. The
shoes will not be high heels, but with any luck, they will match
each other.
A "good stranger" mom will smell like cookies and apple juice,
and will have a sippy cup in one coat pocket and a baggie of
Cheerios in the other.
If you ask a "good stranger" mom for any of these items, she will
have them somewhere on her person: a wet wipe, a safety pin, a spare
nipple (for a baby bottle, that is), a tube of diaper rash ointment,
a pacifier, a stale french fry, a burp rag, a pair of children's
underwear (these might even be clean), a pipe cleaner, a red plastic
barrette, a wad of play-dough, the wheel off a Matchbox car and a
headache.
This "good stranger" mom will most likely not be found in a sexy
lingerie store, a jewelry store or a store that sells high-end
breakable knickknacks. No, most likely, this exhausted, yet
happy-looking "good stranger" mom without her kids will be sitting
on a bench, sipping a strawberry milkshake and enjoying the novelty
of being alone.
[By LAURA SNYDER]
Laura Snyder may be reached at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com,
or check www.lauraonlife.com
for info about her books. |
