By: Heather Desmond O’Neill
There are definitely two teams in our house.
Us against them.
We have to stick together. If we don’t, our children may realize that ultimately we really have no power.
There are fabrications that we have told our children to keep the upper hand. After the kids are in bed, sometimes my husband and I sit and debrief on untruths we may have told our children throughout the day. Here are a few:
1. Santa Doesn’t Bring Ride-On Toys – When my oldest son (now 6) was 3, he desperately wanted a John Deere tractor for Christmas. We couldn’t afford the $400 to purchase the battery powered one, so Santa brought the pedal tractor. It was much less expensive and he could use it whenever he wanted. We weren’t a slave to the charge of a battery and he was getting exercise, so it was win-win all around.
2. Ride-On Toys Don’t Cross The Street …. Or Leave The Yard – Ever. We live on a busy road and the fear of my kids riding into the street or venturing out of our yard is very real and constant. We have relentlessly echoed this statement every time we are in the driveway on the toys. This has been stated as fact and told them that if a toy does leave the yard it will be left at the end of the driveway for someone outside of the yard to take and enjoy.
3. When The Music Is Playing On The Ice Cream Truck It Means They Are Out Of Ice Cream – Again, we live on a busy road and there are a few trucks that ride by blaring their annoying music right around dinner time. Unfortunately I think they are catching on to us because we’ve seen a few trucks doling out cold treats to children of all ages and those trucks play music. I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to get away with this one.
4. I’m Really Only 25 Years Old – Let’s face it, at 6 years old, there are no secrets. For some reason my son is obsessed with telling everyone how old I am, so I started telling him I was 25. He has no concept of how old this really is and what’s wrong with him telling random strangers that I’m only 25? I’m good with it.
5. Mamas Know Everything. There is nothing that my children will do that my husband and I have not done or tried to do. Especially in these few short years. My son gets his “Irish” whispering ability from his father and doesn’t realize that I can hear him from the other room. Or that you can see a reflection in the sliding glass doors or windows. It’s wonderful catching him in something he knows he shouldn’t be in and he has no idea how I caught him.
I don’t feel that these untruths are ones that will hurt my boys in the long run. As parents, we need to keep one up on them as long as we can. There’s nothing wrong with #TeamMomAndDad winning a few rounds here and there.
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