“Today my wife was a witch!
I told her to clean our house, but she spent the time talking to her friends instead.
I shouted at her and told her to sort it out. I’m sick to death of telling her!
She did it but it’s still not done properly!
I’ve told her she’s not going out with her friends this weekend now.
If she can’t be bothered to do the simple things I’ve told her to, why should she get to do nice things?!
Today, I smacked my wife.
She got really upset because I refused to buy her some chocolate. I’m sick of her acting like a spoiled brat.
She does this all the time, so I gave her something to cry about.
Tonight, my wife is driving me mad.
She actually expects me to come to bed and lie with her.
How ridiculous! Doesn’t she realize I need time to myself away from her?
She said she thought she heard someone downstairs. I told her not to be so damn paranoid and to go to sleep. It’s past 8 o’clock for goodness sake.
It’s her bedtime!
She keeps saying she doesn’t want to sleep. She’s not tired, apparently.
She’ll just have to learn!
She’s crying now. I’m just going to ignore her. If I give her attention, she will never learn!
For god sake.
She just fell over.
I TOLD her to stop standing on the chair.
She has no one else to blame but herself!
I’ve told her to get up and stop being such a crybaby.
She’s just carrying on for attention now.
Today, my wife got a disciplinary at work.
She said it’s the management picking on her. I’m not having this crap.
She called the manager a ****.
I told her until she can sort out her attitude, she can’t watch TV and I’ve confiscated her phone.
She won’t be having any money either! I’m not having a disrespectful wife!
Do you feel angry reading this? Do you feel sorry for the wife? You may have missed an element though…Because this isn’t about a ‘wife’ at all. Please go back.
Read it again and replace the word ‘wife’ with the word ‘child.’
Does it make you feel quite so angry?
How often are children punished for not doing what they’re told when they’re told. For having tantrums. How often are they called spoiled brats?
How often are they told its bedtime and left feeling alone? How often are they punished for things that happened at school, their reasons dismissed?
We really wouldn’t tolerate it between adults…so why should we do it with children? Instead talk, discuss, explain, and work together to solve problems. And hold your child a little tighter tonight.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Nic Bescoby, and originally appeared here. You can follow her journey on Facebook. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.
Read more from stories from Nic:
Do you know someone who could benefit from reading this? SHARE this story on Facebook with family and friends.