PNG & Supernanny

So life is still crazy. We have been frequenting the PNG Discovery center, where my children get to be "subjects". Diaper studies are wonderful. I love my gift cards. I also love the break from cleaning up my own house after a toddler Tornado. But there is the down side. As you all know, I am not really a people person and I do not like to make "polite" chatter with women. I do not take joy in comparing my children. Nor do I take joy in other grown women giggling at my toddler, who dresses himself funny. I'm sure their children have never put their pants on backwards either. But the one thing that has struck me as odd, is the way some parents can be with their children. Now, you have to understand that at a "fit load" study, it's kind of invasive to a child. You take them in to the room and get their height and weight. Then you take them up to the counter to usually have a few measurements taken by some strange lady. And most of the time, they take the measurement while the child is naked from the waist down. Now if you do not get bumped (asked to leave, because your baby is not the "right size" for the study), your child is subjected to more poking and prodding. Pictures taken, more measurements, "bubbles" (fake urine), touching and feeling by a stranger.

So to get to the real story....
This mom has her son who is about 2 1/2 maybe 3. He is crying. Not throwing a fit, but just whining some. So after all the poking at the counter, she takes him to the picture room. I am sitting next to the room at this time. She is waiting for her turn and she then proceeds to threaten him, "That was a naughty boy. You don't do that to mommy. You are a naughty boy. If you don't stop, I will take you to the bathroom and spank you."

Now my problem is, he wasn't whining for a toy or being persistent about something else. He was whining about some strange lady touching him and prodding his diaper. The kid deserves to whine a little! For all the stuff you put him through to make $55, is it really worth it? Now Isaiah was always great and loved the pictures and bubbles and attention. Elijah does a pretty good job flirting with the ladies himself. But if they had cried and threw a fit, I would have stopped and walked out. My child does not need to suffer for 4-5 hours to make a few bucks. It was crazy!

I have also realized that on occasion, mommy (me) does not think first before responding. And super nanny helps to beat that into my head every Weds night also. So I'm not really any different from that mom, but that was just silly!