We have these friends...let's call them Kim and John. Kim and John have two children: a four year old boy, Fred, and a one year old daughter, Jane. (Names are changed to protect the innocent--me.)
Kim is a working mother and has a fairly high-level management job. John is a sales representative and makes a very good living on commissions. The problem that we notice with Kim and John is that John refuses to discipline the kids, Fred in particular. John wants to be the "fun parent." If Kim tries to get Fred settled down, John says, "Fred isn't ready yet!" and gets him all riled up again.
Tonight was especially noticable, as little Fred was throwing a rubber ball all around their living room and John was participating heartily. Kim asked John to stop getting the kid wound up, and finally John listened. So what did he do? He told Fred to stop, and then looked over at Kim and said, "Mean Mommy!"
There's more. Fred went outside with the ball and immediately started throwing it at the windows of the house. At this point, John went outside, ostensibly to discipline Fred. Didn't happen. Another game of catch ensued and before too much longer Fred was throwing the ball at the windows again.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who would have given Fred a spanking and John an ultimatum.