|
Post by zoar3 on Jun 6, 2013 11:31:15 GMT -5
^Thank you, Sparklymouse! What also bothered me was Seth, normally I am a big fan of his. I am guessing Watson and told Lisa he wanted to talk with her before she and Seth came to pick up Karen and that was maybe more of a reason why Seth "stalled" Karen so she wouldn't go interrupt her parents. I know Lisa and Seth were on vacation, Seth could have made more of an effort, his usual dad-like effort, to be a good person to Karen and ask her if she wanted to talk and what was going on. But this isn't so much about Seth as it is Watson and Elizabeth. As Afton posted, Karen was only 7 and the adults around her sure let her down. I do think she got carried away quickly and kept up the spying despite seeing the results. That wasn't right. I felt like her parents were literally thinking the only way to "stop" Karen is to shove what she is doing to everyone right back at her--two wrongs don't make a right, especially when two adults should know better! And that was so, very much worse! I know this bothers me so much because it has shades of purposely embarrasing a young child or punishing them in a forceful way. I do not care to get into a debate on either topic, just saying both hit close to home and I did feel awful for Karen. I think Elizabeth or Watson could have taken Karen aside and asked her if she noticed how sad and hurt Nannie looked or even that Emily Michelle is too busy being Emily Michelle and a young 2 to get about resolutions. Maybe they could have helped Karen make some simple goals for herself and possibly one for them that she COULD help them with. That would have been a million times better and probably made me like the big house family more too, than the other.
|
|
supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
|
Post by supprazz on Feb 18, 2014 10:54:20 GMT -5
I totally agree zoar, I thought it was childish too how Lisa told Karen everything in the end and how she said Nancy and Hannie filled her in. It was a harsh lesson, but also sounds like something that would make yahoo headlines as a unique,random way of teaching their kid a lesson.
|
|
|
Post by wenonah4th on May 19, 2014 13:56:05 GMT -5
Karen can get so carried away, she sometimes needs a dramatic rebuke.
|
|
scrounge
Sitter-In-Training
Boo and bullfrogs!
Posts: 414
|
Post by scrounge on May 28, 2014 11:06:36 GMT -5
The scene in this book where Karen is reading a bedtime story to Emily and she wets her pants always bothers me. Karen has volunteered to do the job of putting Emily to bed, and her parents are just like "Sweet, go for it!" and tell her to put a diaper on Emily before bed. Then when Emily pees her pants, nobody helps her, so Karen has to clean Emily up, get her ready for bed, and change the sheets on the bed. Karen asks Kristy for help and Kristy doesn't want to clean up urine, which is fine, because it's not really her job, but she should have told Karen to get one of Emily's actual parents to help with that. Cleaning up a urine-soaked small child and changing all the sheets on a bed is an inappropriate amount of work to make a little kid do just because she tried to be nice and offered to read a bedtime story to her sister.
|
|
|
Post by greer on May 28, 2014 11:35:04 GMT -5
Why didn't Karen ask her parents for help? I haven't read this book in a long time.
|
|
|
Post by booboobrewer on May 28, 2014 11:42:03 GMT -5
I think she did tell them, and that's when they said it was her responsibility? ITA scrounge. I can't imagine letting a seven year old handle that.
But then, I have never in my life changed a diaper.
|
|
|
Post by greer on May 28, 2014 11:56:35 GMT -5
Well, eleven-year-olds in Stoneybrook can stay home alone with two children for an entire weekend and thirteen-year-olds can do everything except drive, so it's not surprising There should be a thread of the most bizarre parenting choices in Little Sister.
|
|
|
Post by virgoscorpio on May 28, 2014 22:55:32 GMT -5
Well, eleven-year-olds in Stoneybrook can stay home alone with two children for an entire weekend and thirteen-year-olds can do everything except drive, so it's not surprising There should be a thread of the most bizarre parenting choices in Little Sister. Haha, we should start one.
|
|
|
Post by Honeybee on May 29, 2014 22:01:56 GMT -5
Well, eleven-year-olds in Stoneybrook can stay home alone with two children for an entire weekend and thirteen-year-olds can do everything except drive, so it's not surprising There should be a thread of the most bizarre parenting choices in Little Sister. Haha, we should start one. Good idea. We can see, how bizarre parenting choices are. What were the parents thinking, at the time.
|
|
|
Post by wenonah4th on Jun 2, 2014 13:12:31 GMT -5
and I see someone started a thread like that
|
|
inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
|
Post by inge on Aug 24, 2014 10:09:51 GMT -5
I'm a long-forgotten BSC fan from Holland, were most of the later books are not available (and don't have the money yet, to have them shipped to me ;-) and tbh it's a long time since I read from the series) Yesterday I was at a small bookcrossing point and imagine my surprise when this little book was there! Swept it up immediately and to be honest don't think I'll put it back in the bookcrossing pool (I'll make it up by donating some other books), way too exciting to find a new BSC related book after so much time.
Read through it this morning, and here's some of my thoughts. 1. Karen was terribly bratty. I mean. Wow. She's always on about what other people are doing wrong and I think that's a really unhealthy tendency for a child; especially the way she went on about Nanny not trying her best! It was good that she was put in her place. 2. I do agree with many posters here that her family should've been much more clear with her from the beginning. New Years resolutions are not to be taken too seriously, etc. Just to help Karen understand. 3. I liked Karen offering to put Emily Michelle to bed and taking care of her so well. Agree that it was not her responsibility at ALL to change Emily's bed. I'm not even sure I knew how to change a bed when I was 7 let alone a urine soaked one. She handled it really maturely I'd say. Unrealistically so, for a 7 year old! 4. Too bad I didn't get to see more of Kristy or Kristy being nice in this book. And also from reading through this thread it seems this book fits nicely with #13 and #15. Wish I had those! Oh well :-) Here's to more lucky finds in the future. 5. Wait, where's the thread on weird parenting choices?
|
|
|
Post by greer on Aug 24, 2014 10:32:18 GMT -5
You're not forgotten!
|
|
inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
|
Post by inge on Aug 24, 2014 10:34:03 GMT -5
Aww that's sweet! Nice to see someone from the old days still hanging around
|
|
|
Post by booboobrewer on Aug 24, 2014 11:04:13 GMT -5
There are quite a few of us Glad you also have not forgotten about these boards!
|
|
inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
|
Post by inge on Aug 24, 2014 11:32:53 GMT -5
Haha of course not It's nice to have a place to read others' thoughts after reading something new
|
|