I did something very bad today. I shamelessly misled my toddler to advance my own goals. The imp and I have on ongoing battle with her coat. I want her to wear it so that she can enjoy good health throughout the winter and so that I can avoid dirty looks from complete strangers and daycare personnel. She, however, does not seem to care about such things. At 10۫ F, the coat was not optional. As I was putting her coat on her, she sweetly asked if our dog could go to school with her today. Sensing that this thought was distracting her from the coating process, I asked, “Do you want Zoe to go to school today?” She answered affirmatively, and I vaguely responded, “We’ll ask Zoe later if she wants to go,” knowing full well that there would be no dog at daycare today or ever. The rest of our morning proceeded smoothly until we got in my car. The imp started crying and asking about Zoe. I told her that Zoe wanted to nap all day instead of going to daycare (which really isn’t too far from the truth) but that answer didn’t seem to satisfy her. I starting feeling very guilty about misleading her, but thankfully we got behind a school bus and I convinced imp that we were chasing the bus (this always makes her happy.)
January 3, 2008...12:05 pm
There will be no dog at daycare today (or ever)
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8 Comments
January 3, 2008 at 6:14 pm
My Zoe would probably rather take a nap all day than go to daycare also. Those crazy Zoes!
January 3, 2008 at 6:22 pm
The only part about daycare that my Zoe would enjoy is snack and meal time!
January 3, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Justification: “Why It Is OK to Lie To Your Child (Sometimes)” on parenting.com
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/mom/article/0,19840,1667617,00.html
Zoe is the number 1 cool name just edging out Fiona. Not necessarily for a dog..just in the name category in general.
January 3, 2008 at 8:52 pm
That was a great article. Thanks for passing that along. I feel justified and amused at the same time. I really enjoyed the story about the ice cream truck. Basically, I learned that my manipulation was okay as long as I don’t over-do it.
Ha! My dog is cool (sort of).
January 4, 2008 at 1:48 am
Loved this story:) It reminded me that when my son was little I would ask him to change the stop lights through his powers of mind control. Tomorrow he takes his GMAT in preparation to attend a master’s program and become a CPA:)
I also told him that he should be very careful and behave because at night, when he was sleeping, I had the ability to read his mind and know everything he had done during the day.
I would have no issue at all with believing that the dog actually told you he preferred to stay home. Those tears were as a result of the dogs unwillingness to participate, not because of anything you did.
January 4, 2008 at 6:32 am
I just might borrow your mind control tactic someday! Best wishes for your son tomorrow. I don’t envy him…those standardized can make you dizzy…especially the logic questions that try to determine who can’t sit next to whom at a dinner party. Good career choice on his part
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Yikes, now Abby will dislike Zoe instead of me. I can live with that.
January 10, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Yeah, I’ve heard parents tell their kids crazy things to get them to go along with things. I haven’t experienced that yet as my hubby and I have no kids yet, but I hear my friends say the craziest things to their kids just to keep the peace.
January 10, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I felt badly about the manipulation, but she ended up at daycare wearing a coat and I made it to work on time…so it couldn’t have been all bad.