The Strict Babysitter: sounds like a roleplay, but it isn't

Ironic as it might seem, I never think of Myself as a disciplinarian or strict with the kids. In fact, I've always sort of thought Myself a pushover. I'm pretty free with them as long as they aren't putting themselves in danger of being hurt or disobeying their parent's orders. But maybe I take their parent's instructions more seriously than their parents do. We had a brief incident on the beach today that I feel badly about. The kids, their dad & I had gone swimming and were about to walk back to their hotel. The girl asked her dad to carry her sandals. He said no and told her to carry them herself. She whined and wheedled a bit. I repeated his carry them yourself with a somewhat final tone. I hadn't realized that he had relented and agreed already and I was still insisting that she carry them herself. It was momentarily awkward. Later that evening, she commented to Me, "You aren't like Daddy. When you say no, you mean it, he can be convinced if you just keep asking." I felt terrible, if amused. I think their parents are amazing parents. The kids are polite, smart, generally well-behaved and kind. 99.9% of the time our views are completely in line on how to treat and deal with children. The mom and I both seethed on the plane when we saw a couple hitting & sharply shushing their infant for crying.

For those of you bored to tears with the kid stuff, here's a link that jimmybob sent to Me today.