I hear one of the negatives of having a large family is the noise. We did not experience
that form of negativism. My siblings and I were encouraged to argue in complete
silence. Try that one.
I never had an argument with any of my sisters. My younger brother and I quietly
talked smack at each other all the time, but we knew the consequences if we got too
loud
As a stringent disciplinarian, my father didn't discriminate between siblings nor age.
Me and number #9 were loudest when we were trying to sing doo-wop in our
bedroom at night. We would create our own lyrics and beats. Some songs, I recall, were
pretty rhythmic, but 20 minutes later we remembered nothing. We didn't write
anything down. (No, not Rap) Of course, we'd start all over again with new lyrics.
All of our commotions, as he would call it, was just noise to our dad. He would come
from his bedroom to our bedroom at the other end of the house. We could hear him
grumbling and cussin' along the way. Building his anger...We would get our laughs in
preparation before he arrived
He'd come around that corner and curse "Shut that damn noise up and take your
ass'es to bed". We did. He never had to repeat himself. Never!
We never cracked a smile once he arrived. We were straight-faced until he returned to
his room. I think he liked saying that and us responding so. Then we would snicker like
we argued...quietly.
My youngest daughter would mock me in a similar tone at 5 -6 yrs. old. It still is funny.
He never punished us for trying to sing. We were horrible...but we did that almost
every night anyway.
He would not come to quiet us every night. Most times he would just wait for us to tire
and go to sleep without prompting.
I think the result was a TV set gifted for our room. It would keep us quiet. Amazingly
we always agreed on what to watch from the 3 channels available. I can see where it
may be an issue today.