Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Parents Sarcasm Doesn’t Work

I am a kid. I don’t get sarcasm. I expect my mommy and daddy to talk to me straight.

But some mommies and daddies do not talk straight to their kids.

I found these 6 sarcastic parenting phrases.

1.  Are your legs/arms broken?

What a terrible thing to ask a child.

“Um, yeah, mom. That’s why I am just sitting here in pain and not doing anything. Because I can’t.

2.  If all of your friends jumped off a bridge/ate a giant marshmallow, would you?

I like friends and I want to be like my friends. Or maybe I want my friends to be like me. I am still trying to figure out things. But if my friends did something stupid, why would I want to follow them?

3.  Oh, Katie’s mom lets her stay up late at night? Then go live with Katie’s mom.  I’ll help you pack.

Really? You want me to leave that badly that you’ll help just because I thought Katie’s mom might have a good idea?

4. Shut the door, were you born in a barn?

Jesus was born in a barn. Maybe. Or a stable. But it might have been part of the house back then. Do barn doors stay open all the time?

5. Your room looks like a cyclone hit it.

Cool. I always wondered what sort of affect a cyclone would have on my room. Can I try a tsunami next?

6. Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall.

Do you talk to brick walls often? What have they said back to you? How would you know?

Sarcasm usually gets sarcasm in return. Do you really want me to learn how to be sarcastic?

How do you think parents should talk to their kids?

Logical parenting phrases that don’t make sense.

Illogical parenting phrases, too.

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.