The Animals

Hey Internet, I've been wondering about something.  Do you think it is bad to refer to your children as "the animals?"  As in,  "Oh, I've got to put my animals to bed." Or "Should we feed the animals pasta for dinner or soup?"  Or "Sorry about the mess.  The animals crushed the graham crackers into the floor again."

It often seems like a fitting description for my children. They eat without regard to silverware or dishes.  They sleep curled into little balls.  Their play consists of climbing on each other and wrestling one another into submission. They run really fast. They like to forage. They growl and roar when they are angry.  Frankly, it seems clear that my children seem to lack any sense of dignity at all.

Lately, however, I've been thinking that maybe calling my children "the animals" is a wee bit demeaning.  They are my children, after all, and even though they may act like puppies, I should probably show them a bit more respect. They are human beings and they deserve at least that.

As I was pondering this thought today, I heard the animals Jude and Elie making a lot of noise upstairs. They were supposed to be napping but when I went in to check on them, I saw that they had both pooped and wiped their excrement on their sheets, stuffed animals, cribs, and walls. That's when it became abundantly clear that I needed to stop calling them "the animals."

Even animals know enough to poop and walk away.

Comments

  1. Just Another Mom of TwinsNovember 7, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    LMAO!!! LMAO!!! OMG! I soooo needed this....

    ReplyDelete
  2. MandyE (Twin Trials and Triumphs)November 7, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    Oh...been there! I never referred to my kiddos as "animals", but a similar incident did prompt me to keep them in straight jackets (i.e. onesies) for the next year - no exceptions. ;)

    And on a sadly related note, my hubby did remark during our most recent potty-training (during Day 2 or 3) that our species doesn't seem very advanced sometimes. At least in some respects, there's a point to be made. ;)

    Hope you got the mess cleaned up...and treated yourself to something delectable later. Being an animal handler is hard work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. KeriNovember 7, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    oh my goodness! maybe it's time to get a video monitor to spy on your animals, err girls? my hub and i call our kids "animals" too and "monkeys" but not within their earshot or eyeshot (we sign). ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. heatherNovember 8, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Ugh! Not my idea of a successful nap time. I have a friend who refers to her twins as "the shorties." We often call Henry and Clara, "the babies" but what will I do when they aren't babies anymore??

    ReplyDelete

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