Me: Luke, please brush your teeth.
Luke: Nah.
Me: Luke, boys who don't brush their teeth don't get to go to the the water park. (An enforceable statement --Love and Logic working here.)
Luke: Uh uh.
Me: Okay, then Zach and I will go by ourselves.
Luke: Who will stay with me?
Me: Hmm. (pause) A mean old lady.
***Nice parenting, huh? In my defense, L&L suggests that children can pay for their own babysitters in these circumstances. Luke's understanding of this is not quite there yet, but "mean old lady" resonates.***
Luke: Caitlin?!
***Caitlin is our sweet next door neighbor and babysitter so I laugh.***
Me: No, not Caitlin.
Luke: What's her name?
Me: Um...Mrs. Scally Wag
***Luke smiles an inquisitive smile, wondering where this is going.***
Luke: Does she have any kids to play with?
Me: No. (pause) But she has cats. Lots of cats.
Luke: Oh. Are they nice cats?
Me: No. They're mean cats.
***Are you thinking of reporting me to the officials yet? Please don't.***
Luke: Will they scratch me?
Me: Maybe.
Luke: Will they eat me?
Me: Maybe. They do like the taste of little boys.
Luke says nothing, squeezes out some toothpaste, and brushes his teeth. Then offers to floss.
Success!
Please understand that this was not scary at all for him, but rather exactly the kind of thing that he eats up. I'm learning to get on his level...and it's kind of weird. No?
Clearly this is not a typical parenting style. But if you know Luke, he is not a typical child. I like to think I'm adaptable. :)
Of course I paid for it dearly all day as he continued to have me remind him of her name and then ask me TONS of questions about Mrs. S.W. and her cats. And of course he talked about it to the neighbors and people at the YMCA, so I'm bracing myself for uncomfortable phone calls. But, WHATEVER!!!! The boy brushed his teeth without a fight. And yes, I realize he'll be sitting on some therapist's couch one day, wondering why he has a fear of kittens and single women. Maybe this blog will come in handy after all.
Yep, I'm now taking myself out of the running for the Mother of the Year award. But my child has clean teeth.
So there.
xo,
Jess
5 comments:
In the grand scheme of things a fear of cats and single women isn't that bad. At least the man will smell minty while revisiting his childhood!
Kelly
Dying over " a mean old lady" part! :)
I think it was a great plan and glad it worked out. Nothing wrong with getting down to their level and using what works. I say you're still definitely in the running for Mother of the Year! I on the other hand, was tossed out before the pre-qualifier ;o) LOL
Haha, great post :)
The crumpled-paper background makes it too hard to read this blog.
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