Excuse me for moment while I adjust my soap box. You see, just the other week we received a phone call from our church stating that the signs for our Kindemusik business were being collected and thrown into the back of a county truck only to be hauled off to the dump. We were a tad confused because my husband had called the county and asked if a permit was needed and what laws and rules there were in posting a sign on the property where we conducted our business. We were given the go ahead, and for months our signs had stood and directed folks our way...until two weeks ago. What changed? Apparently the law changed, and ours were not the only signs picked up by the authorities. Many other small businesses were set back by this change in policy. Was a notice given to the business owners? We received none, and this with our phone number ON THE SIGN. How difficult would it be to call the owner and tell them that they had 24 hours to comply with the change in the law?
My husband was less than thrilled, to put it mildly. We are not a large business, and I am sure that you are all aware of our sluggish economy. It doesn't seem logical to set back small businesses in a time when people are going the extra mile to make a go of it. After taking careful precaution to comply to all the laws regarding a business and advertising, it was particularly upsetting to find that we had trespassed a law we didn't know existed. Even less so when my husband had to go down to the office and acquire papers allowing him to go down to the dump and retrieve his own signs...and could only find one of the two.
I hope you are all burning with the righteous indignation that comes from one who desires to do the right thing but is unable to do so because the rules secretly changed. But don't we, as parents, sometimes do this to our children? Imagine the frustration of a toddler when she finds that she has crossed an unknown line while out in public. How helpful it would have been to take a minute before going into the store to clearly explain your expectations for her behavior! (ie, do not whine for me to buy you something, do not touch things in the store, do not stand in the cart, etc.) Perhaps then she would have known how to behave instead of finding it out by default. Perhaps a minute of pause before entering the birthday party to explain the proper social etiquette to your child would prevent the embarrassing situation of her unknowingly stealing the spotlight from the birthday girl. We have been known to practice how one behaves at a birthday party, both as the birthday girl and as the guest. It is a lovely thing when you see your child look up with confidence to thank the giver for the present they are opening.
Even teenagers need to have the expected behavior laid out plainly and simply for them. Nothing is more frustrating than to find that you have disappointed a parent by behaving in an embarrassing manner, only to be called selfish and self-centered later. Even the most willing of teens will begin to withdraw if this pattern repeats itself enough times. They certainly will not proceed with the confidence that their parents are proud of them and support their efforts in learning to be responsible and productive young adults.
So in some ways, this little upset in our business life has given us pause to remember the importance of clearly communicating our expectations to our children. How's that for a silver lining?
No comments:
Post a Comment