Parenting styles

So we went to a fundraising auction at the kid's school last night. Brevan and Brynlie had been coveting a cute trio of Webkins that they'd seen earlier in the day during the "preview" of the auction items. They counted up their dollars and pennies and realized that combined they had just over $30. Ryan and I told them that they could bid on the Webkins and we would pay half of the price, as long as it didn't go over $60.

They stood close by the Webkins all evening and anytime someone outbid them, they would up their bid. A few minutes before the auction was to end, a girl came up with her mom and wanted the Webkins. So her mom had her hold the pen and WRITE AS SLOWLY AS SHE COULD UNTIL THE TIME RAN OUT. What?!? Brevan immediately went up to some teachers and explained what had happened. The teachers knew that it wasn't fair, but couldn't do anything about it. The part that really bothered me was the attitude of the mom. She stood behind Brevan's shoulder with a scowl on her face and argued her case, with her daughter at her side.

When Brevan realized that he was not going to get the Webkins, he burst into tears (which is incredibly rare for our child who doesn't show emotions appropriately). We kept hugging him and trying to explain that although it was not fair, we were proud of him for being honest. He kept crying and saying, "but she CHEATED! How can she win when she CHEATED?" Good question, but that's life. I am just constantly amazed at the "lessons" some parents teach their kids. That kid who took home the Webkins learned that cheating is OK as long as you get what you want.

On the way home, I stopped by Hallmark and let them both pick out a new Webkins. I figured they deserved it!