Kid Tantrums. Man Tantrums.

Parenting. It’s not always black and white, that’s for sure. In fact, most of the time it’s not black and white. If anything, it’s more like a nice thick sludge of pasty gray, kind of like a bowl full of 2-week-old pâté mixed with a dollop of mud and a pinch of what the heck am I even talking about. Exhibit A (and the only exhibit): At a world-famous candy shop, a child breaks down into loud tears, asking Daddy to buy him a world famous chocolate bar. Parenting Test – Does a GOOD Daddy: A) Buy his son the chocolate bar to bring an end to the tantrum. B) Teach his son that such behavior will never get him what he wants and leave without buying his child chocolate. What’s that you say? Definitely answer A? You think it is black and white? Maybe. Maybe not. And maybe. Just maybe. The right parenting move is to buy the kid chocolate. I never would have thought so either, but last week while visiting Hershey Chocolate World, I became that dad, having to make that decision, and I learned that it sometimes was a nasty shade of pâté grey. And since you’re in suspense, I’ll give away the ending. I bought him the chocolate bar. Now, the rest of the story. I think it goes without saying that aside, perhaps, from his mother, nobody knows my child better than I do. Nobody knows his personality better. Nobody knows his temperament better. Nobody knows his moods better. Nobody knows his triggers better. Nobody knows his behavior better. And nobody knows how all of it plays into everything that is going on in any given moment Continue reading: Kid Tantrums. Man Tantrums.