Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/when-values-collide-exploring-a-cross-cultural-issue/5010830/
My son was about two when he reached for a crystal wine glass I was drying at the sink. "I'm sorry, I can't let you play with that," I said kindly, but firmly. His face got red, the sign of an oncoming tantrum. He doubled up his little fists and began to flail at my legs. I stepped calmly aside, out of the range of his fists, and then walked away to put the wine glass in the cupboard. What happened next surprised me.The teenage friend of one of my older sons rose from the table and raced over to my toddler son. This friend had always been very quiet and mild mannered. I'd never seen him get excited or even heard him raise his voice, but now, he was
very upset. He bent over my two year old and told him in a very emotional way that he must never, never, never hit his mother.
I hadn't regarded what had happened as hitting. I saw the little waving fists as an expression of anger, not as a threat to me. I had skillfully moved away so fast that if he actually ...