What is this with the word "OK"? OK, I know what it means, but why do people use it as a question? "I'm OK" is fine. So is "the game was OK". "Are you OK?", or "is the dog OK?" are fine to use as an interrogative.
I object to people making a statement or request and then following it up with an "OK". "Will you shut the door?", or "Will you call your brother for me?" are fine. Why ask permission to ask a question?
Parents, teachers, and other adults ask children such questions, and then they finish it with an "OK". I don't know when this started in my generation, but it was after I was grown. My parents never asked me "OK" after a request. I knew there was no negotiation to a request; it just got done.
Some might say that being a parent now requires cooperation of the child. I don't think it does. "Close the door when you leave" is a form of instruction, not a point of discussion. Children crave instruction. A friend who used to work at an educational TV station once told me that. Watch little kids when a commercial comes on TV. They will run from one end of the house to the other to stand and watch.
"OK?" is an opening for negotiation. Kids don't know how to negotiate until they are much older. It is confusing for them. Now, older kids and adults may want to negotiate, but a six year old doesn't have a clue.
Oh boy! I know that a lot of people won't agree, but that's why I have my blog.
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