behavior report card

Yesterday as I was picking Chica up from school, one of her teachers pulled me aside because she had a Reesie story to share with me.

Uh oh.

My daughter's "school" has a beautiful indoor playground complete with a huge, soft, tree slide. (Think play area at the mall.) Apparently, during indoor playtime, Chica gathered several of her classmates together and climbed to the very top of the tree slide where she proceeded to perform a little ditty for the rest of her class. Miss Stephanie said Chica's number consisted of singing, dancing and arm movements. She said the hostage classmates were captivated throughout the entire performance.

I'm sure they were.

I wonder if their complete attention stemmed from fear of being held against their will or if the performance was packed with shock value. Truly, I'd rather not know.

Since ignorant bliss is no longer an option, I must look for another source of comfort in handling this situation.

Diverting the blame.

To make certain I've played no part in contributing to my daughter's shenanigans, I will now ponder the age old debate: Nature vs. Nurture.

In one corner we have Nurture. The child does something because she's been trained to do so. Somewhere along the way she learned that forcing peers to sit through a mini-recital was a good idea. One thing in particular supports the nurture argument. Chica's grandparents came to visit last weekend.

She had three whole days of undivided attention. That will boost a girl's confidence. It's quite possible she's projecting their doting tendencies onto everyone else she encounters. Heaven help me.

On the other hand we have Nature. Genetics. Chromosomes, mitosis, and the whatnot. Inherited characteristics passed down from generation to generation. If nature caused my daughter to entertain others against their will, then she did so because its in her makeup. I'd like to end with nature right there, but I can't shake a conversation I had with my mom. When I called her to tell her the story, she cracked up saying, "I know exactly who that sounds like! She reminds me of someone else I know!" Heaven help me.

If you must know, she was referring to Daniel.