by MELISSA CHAPMAN
My husband and I have VERY different ideas when it comes to letting our kids experience pain.
This summer my daughter had a pretty tough bullying experience at her day camp. And while I let her attend three weeks of camp – the last two of which chipped away relentlessly at her self esteem and then made the decision to send her to a different camp – my husband was vehemently opposed to my decision to let her come home.
Here’s how the conversation went:
Me: “Honey (I always preface every conversation in which I know I will be attempting to get on his good graces by addressing him as ‘Honey’) our daughter has morphed into a sullen depressed middle aged woman, taking to her bed each day after camp. That spark and excitement she had about the summer – has all but dimmed. I really feel like the best possible thing would be to take her out of this situation.”
The Sugar Daddy: “Our daughter needs to learn to adjust to a bad situation. Not all situations are going to be ideal. She has to grow a thicker skin and adjust and make the best of things.”
Me: “But HONEY, this is the summer – she has eight weeks to just be, to enjoy, to be a kid, to be free and well, she seems like a prisoner of war as opposed to a happy go lucky camper. This camp situation is literally sucking the lifeblood from her. She is saying she CAN’T wait for camp to be over. THIS IS NOT the way her summer is supposed to play out – NOT under my watch.”