Parenting when Exhausted

When we visited my son's pedia for his MMR shots and to have insect bites checked (they turned out to have gotten infected... tsk!), there was this family who everyone noticed.

The mother and father had three kids, two boys of about five and three and this newborn girl. The boys obviously were still reeling from the addition and were both acting up. Especially the middle child. At one point, this boy even went around trying to grab all the newborns (theirs and other moms'). But all the mother ever did was say the boy's word in a disapproving voice. She never even told her son to apologize to the moms who were getting terrorized.

And since she was munching on gum, her boys asked for one too. And sure enough, the middle child (who was about three) didn't heed their instructions that he shouldn't swallow the gum. But from the way they scolded him after, it seems it's also not the first time the child swallowed a gum.

And when their child started bawling and banging on the clinic's doors, they both tried taking naps. At one point, the father even scolded the yaya for trying to pacify the bawling child.

I know i'm not in their position. Who knows just how exhausted they really are with the newborn. And I actually have a good idea how exhausting post-pregnancy can be, when your hormones plummet and the late nights just get you depressed. Still, I couldn't help but fume a little over their lack of attention to the other kids who are obviously in need of it. The mother could have just as easily handed over the newborn to the yaya since it was just sleeping, and given the middle child (who was going crazy asking for his Mom) some cuddles while they waited for hours for the pediatrician. And the father could have held one of the boys too, instead of giving them mints. They both waited till both boys were growling and crying before they paid attention... and thus, am sure, they have taught their sons that the only way to get their attention is to make a spectacle of themselves in public.

*~*

Another three year old was playing with my son and ended up making him lose his balance. Yakee cried but there were no ill feelings toward the little girl, who was made to sorry, and did it several times. She actually loved making my son laugh and she even sang Twinkle, twinkle Little Star for Yakee (after which, my son will clap, hehe).