We went on a desert trip… The Starry Safari at The Living Desert. First off – VERY VERY Cool. You go and have an animal show in the evening (it’s educational, we went with Joseph’s first grade class), then drop our stuff in our teepees and have dinner. Then a trip through the zoo in the dark to see the nocturnal animals. Then campfire, smores, songs, and bed. The next morning – bright and early, pack up breakfast, then another walk through the zoo, to see the daytime animals.

I really recommend it. But that’s not what this post is about.

Joseph has received a diagnosis. Disruptive Behavioral Disorder NOS.

NOS stands for “not otherwise specified.” In other words, conduct problems or oppositional behavior exist and cause clinically significant impairment but don’t meet criteria for a diagnosis of ODD or Conduct disorder.

With this in mind… And the excess stimuli etc, we weren’t expecting what we found… First off? We are WAY more strict than we thought we were. And really – we’re doing something right. Those kids ran amok. WITH THEIR PARENTS THERE. Now let me put this in perspective – we’re in a wild animal park… At night… With NO lights, other than our personal lanterns. We’ve been told, for our SAFETY, no running, no yelling, and stay on the path. The running and on the path rule due to the complete darkness, and the yelling because it disturbs the wild animals. Hmmmmm… It would seem that parents would want to enforce the children to follow those rules.

…not so much.

I was actually embarrassed for those parents. Because you, in my humble opinion, do NOT just shrug with a “watcha gonna do” look on your face. Had my children been acting like that, we would have physically picked them up, taken them to the side, and given them “the talk.”

But we didn’t have to. Because both the boys were angels. No, don’t look at me like that! Poe and I nearly passed out when we realized they were being this good. ESPECIALLY in comparison with the other kids. And I have proof. At two separate occasions, park workers specifically took us aside to tell us how well our kids were behaving, how polite they were, and that it reflects on us as parents.

We passed out again.

So, this proved to us, as we talked about it on the way home, that 1) Yeah – we are really strict and 2) It’s paying off, if we can take them somewhere with a little danger, exciting things to do and see, and other excited children, and they still behave like gentlemen.

Don’t get me wrong! They’re not automatons! The were really excited about the animals (Logan could hardly contain himself with some), and camping out, but they didn’t turn into banshees. Joseph did have a moment of almost tantrum because he couldn’t “go play too.” But when we explain that those kids weren’t supposed to be “playing,” (ie literally running around in circles screaming) he was fine.

There is one thing though… I think perhaps our kids were switched out for the trip. The proof, if their behavior wasn’t enough? Neither wanted chocolate on their smores.

Blasphemy.