Spend some time with small children and you realize (or remember) how hard it is to be a good parent or grandparent. I recently helped drive my daughter and her children back home to California. It was a very long trip. Besides having one sick child, we also had my 7 month-old granddaughter to entertain in a car seat. She did very well until the last 2 hours of the trip. She wanted out of the car seat. She kept looking at Papa (me), pulling at her seat belts and screaming. Her look said, "Why are you doing this to me?" It was difficult not to unbelt her and hold her during that time. This family already lived through a terrible crash two years ago so my daughter is very safety conscious. I am, as well, so my granddaughter stayed in the seat. It reminded me again that responsible parenting (and grandparenting) takes patience. Giving in helps create irresponsible children. We have enough of those already.
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