For Kids That Don’t Listen

I know you’re not old enough to have kids yet and you don’t know what it’s like to be a parent so let me tell you a story to help you understand.

On your birthday we took you to get a German Shepherd puppy. When we got to the breeder we got to see about ten of them in a cage and we got to pick which one we wanted. We let you look them over and pick the one you wanted. A small female puppy sitting off to the side.

They took it out of the kennel for you and gave it to you. You cradled it in your arms and snuggled with it. When we got home you named her Jessica but you always called her Jess.

As the puppy was growing up in the house you played with her, walked her, fed her, brushed her and gave her baths when she was dirty.

At the end of the day she was your puppy. She would jump up on your bed and sleep at your feet. Whenever you were in danger she would protect you. Whenever an animal was near she’d chase it away. She liked to play fetch and you would sit in the yard with her for hours just playing with her.

You read books on dog training and you taught her commands. Sit, stay, come here, and more. She always listened to you no matter what. She trusted that you were doing the best thing for her when you told her to come back, when you told her to lay down, and when you told her to stay.

As she got older, she began to stop listening to you. At first, it was just occasionally, and eventually she wouldn’t listen at all.

This made you sad, after all, you had raised her as a puppy and she had always trusted you. You felt like she no longer respected you when you talked to her.

One day while you were walking on the road you noticed a car was coming down the street at a high speed. Jess, was standing in the middle of the road. You yelled to her to come back as loud as you could, like usual, she just ignored you.

The car ended up hitting Jess and killing her that day. You wept for months after and you often repeated “If she just would have listened to me, she’d be alive today.”

Well, you are not my dog and no car is coming, but you are my child. All those things you did for Jess I did for you. I held you when you cried, I fed you when you were hungry, I rocked you to sleep, I taught you, I protected you, and I always told you to do things that were good for you. Like Jess, you used to listen, but lately you’ve stopped listening to me, and I’m afraid that you might get hit by that car.

I would never tell you to do something that I didn’t believe wasn’t good for you but when you don’t listen I can no longer protect you and guide you in the right direction. Just as you were responsible for Jess, to keep her safe from harm, to keep her fed, and to give her shelter; I am responsible for you in those same ways because I love you.