Karate Kid

Yaya (or nanny) told me that my 2 year old daughter, Maia, had a nasty sighting of a woman slapping her 21-year old daughter in public, by the poolside and playground commons of our condominium building, while Maia and other young kids were playing in the area last Tuesday morning. And this woman didn’t just bitch-slap the young lass once (if Maia’s nanny is to be believed) but TEN TIMES! Horrors! (Maia’s nanny picked up from the shouting match that preceded the slapping that the young girl had just got kicked out of school for drug use. Ayayaaay … like slapping her would set her straight!)

So I was holding Maia last night, right, struggling to explain why such things happen in life. She had a sad, bewildered look on her face. “What that mother did to her young girl,” I say, “was bad, and I am sorry you had to see it.”

Hubby chimes in. “Make a distinction, Mama …” he says. Taking the cue, I tell Maia, “No one should ever hit anyone. So don’t hit anyone, okay? That’s wrong.” I quickly add, “But if someone hits you FIRST, well, you box and karate like crazy, okay? Like this …” I strike an unstudied Karate pose, legs spread wide, fists swirling. “Do you understand?,” I ask.

She giggles (like I’m kidding!) and says, appearing to humor me, “Uh-kay, mama.” She then mimics (and improves on) my poor fighting stance and then, with a forward kick, explodes in the cutest “Hay-yaaaaaaaaaa!!!” you ever heard.

Realizing I hadn’t taught her that, I turn to her nanny, scolding her, “AND WHAT HAS THIS GIRL BEEN WATCHING ON TV, YAYA?”