I love my kids. I want to put that up front so that no one can misquote me. I love them to death…hopefully not a death at my hands, though.

You see, as a group they have some habits that drive me crazy. The latest one has been transmitted from one to another far too quickly and with too much effectiveness. Lately they’ve all taken up a habit that’s driving me close to the edge. I’ll ask them to do something, it doesn’t matter what and I get the same response:

🎵Don’t tell me what to do!🎵

They seem to think it’s funny.

Honestly, it was at first. It’s always done in a sing-song voice. It’s a response made in jest…a push against the rule of authority. A minor rebellion. But at first, they said the words but went ahead and did the requested task. It was good fun…at first.

But things have deteriorated as the infection has spread from one Hectic kid to another. Recently they’ve stopped doing the actual requested tasks. They give me the sing-song response, but the task request is forgotten. Somehow that little, tiny bit has gotten lost in the humor of their response. Arggggg!

But it hasn’t been lost on me. Now I feel like I’m begging to get things done at home. Constantly. And the more I ask, the more I hear:

🎵Don’t tell me what to do!🎵

So things aren’t getting done that I ask for, the kids are having a great time with their mutiny, and I’m slowly going mad.

Sometimes parenting sucks!