By Pingting
有天晚上，做完了所有事情，
总算可以坐下来休息了。
我不经意叹了口气：
“总算能休息了……”
没想到，这一声轻轻的叹气，
被娃儿精准捕捉。
他立刻开始质问我：
“你怎么叹气了？你还告诉我不能叹气。”
我当场被抓包。
只能一边嬉皮笑脸，一边带点尴尬地说：
“哦，是的，我忘了。你骂我吧！”
他也不客气，直接笑着把我抱倒在地上。
我一下子被他逗笑了。
但有时候，累是真的。
下班回到家，整个人是空的，
观察力也开始跟不上。
那天他让我帮他拿东西，
我几乎没有表情地回了一句：
“你自己过来拿吧。”
结果他马上察觉不对劲。
盯着我说：
“你怎么这么没礼貌？”
我立刻开始为自己辩护：
“我刚给你准备好了蛋糕和叉子，还送到你面前，这还不够吗？
现在你又让我拿东西，我让你自己过来拿，我已经很有礼貌了。”
他听完，停顿了一下，淡淡来了一句：
“that’s called fake polite.”
我心里只剩一句话：
——随便你怎么想，老娘是真的累了。
还有一天，我一边准备吃的，一边对他说：
“你应该跟我一起做。作为家庭的一份子，我在做饭的时候，你也要出力。”
他立刻反问：
“爸爸为什么不做？”
我说：
“爸爸受伤了，怎么做？”
他想了想，一本正经地说：
“我也有出力，我用语言鼓励你做了。”
我当场哭笑不得。
嘴上是这么说，
人还是被我拉过来一起帮忙了。
有时候你会发现，
孩子其实什么都看得见。
你那一声叹气，
你那一点点不耐烦，
你那种“表面礼貌、内心崩溃”的状态——
他都能分辨出来。
甚至，还会给你命名：
“fake polite”。
而我也在一点点接受一件事：
原来我也会累，
也会敷衍，
也会在礼貌和情绪之间摇摆。
但好在，
他会指出来，
我也还能笑出来。
大概，这就是我们之间，
最真实的相处方式。
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.05.01
原创发布： tingtingma.com
写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。
未经授权，请勿转载。
Tingma’s Parenting Diary | #246. When I’m So Tired I Turn “Fake Polite”
One evening, after finishing everything,
I finally got to sit down and rest.
Without even realizing it, I let out a small sigh:
“Finally… I can rest.”
I didn’t expect that this quiet little sigh
would be instantly picked up by my child.
He immediately started questioning me:
“Why are you sighing? You told me not to sigh.”
I was caught on the spot.
All I could do was smile awkwardly and say:
“Oh, right. I forgot. Go ahead, scold me.”
He didn’t hold back—he laughed and tackled me to the ground.
I couldn’t help but laugh too.
But sometimes, being tired is real.
After coming home from work, I felt completely drained,
and my awareness started to slip.
That day he asked me to get something for him,
and I replied almost expressionlessly:
“Come get it yourself.”
He immediately sensed something was off.
He stared at me and said:
“Why are you so rude?”
I instantly started defending myself:
“I already got you cake and a fork and brought it to you—wasn’t that enough?
Now you’re asking me to get something else, and I told you to come get it yourself. I was already being polite.”
He paused for a moment, then said calmly:
“That’s called fake polite.”
At that moment, I had only one thought in my head:
—Think whatever you want. I’m just really tired.
Another day, while I was preparing food, I said to him:
“You should help too. As a member of this family, when I’m cooking, you should contribute.”
He immediately asked:
“Why isn’t Dad doing it?”
I said:
“Dad is injured—how can he do it?”
He thought for a moment, then said seriously:
“I did contribute. I encouraged you with my words.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Even though he said that,
I still pulled him over to help.
Sometimes you realize,
kids see everything.
That little sigh,
that tiny bit of impatience,
that state of being “polite on the outside but falling apart inside”—
they can tell.
They can even name it:
“fake polite.”
And I’m slowly coming to accept something:
I get tired too.
I cut corners sometimes.
I waver between politeness and my real emotions.
But the good thing is,
he points it out,
and I can still laugh about it.
Maybe that’s what our relationship really is—
the most honest way of being with each other.
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on May 1, 2026
Originally published at: tingtingma.com
Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.