The day was winding down, and 4/5ths of our household was upstairs getting ready for bed. Jane, who is developing a bit of a stubborn streak, was downstairs playing. I stood at the top of the stairs trying to coax her up.
Me: Janey, time for PJs.
Jane: (muted because she's on the other side of the house) No.
Me: Come on, Janer. It's PJ time.
Jane: No. Playing.
Me: Play time is over, Sweety. Come on up.
Jane: No want to, Daddy. No like PJs.
(Here's where I briefly divert to remind you of Jane's fear which has recently evolved about ghosts. At least once a day, she runs into the room we're in and yells, "Ghost! Ghost!" )
Me: (sounding frustrated and tired) Jane, I'm not asking you again. Please come upstairs and get your PJs on.
Jane: No, Daddy. No, Daddy! NO, DADDY!
(a brief pause)
Me: Ghost.
(Insert here the pitter-patter sound of terrified feed on hardwood, followed by hugging and reassurance)
4 comments:
Oh-oh
I fear this one may just come back to bite you
Sorry "horrible parent" but that's my thought on this story
Yeah getting a child to do something out of fear usually ends up in a multi-million dollar book deal years from now, in favour of your child.
Yes, I really, really bad about this one. Believe me, I spent a long time assuring Jane (and Erin) that I would never do this again. Truth be told, Jane was giggling by the time she got to the top of the stairs. Still, pretty horrible of me.
Ah, parents have been scaring there kids into doing things for generations, hence the large amount of tales and folktales about demons, ghosts and goblins who will get children if they wander too far, make too much noise and generally do bad things... Dave was, it seems to me, simply engaging in traditional parenting. Of course, when I engage in traditional parenting, I prefer to rise the spectre of a good old fashioned parental beating, but that's just my style...
Oh, by the way, Dannika has/had an invisible friend named ghostie who was causing trouble for a while when we first moved here. Seems ghostie was kicking and shoving Dannika at night, making it IMPOSSIBLE to sleep, a night in our bed and ghostie decided to fly back to Saint John to live with Dannika's friend Rachel. A new invisible friend, Leah, appeared, a friendlier ghost who doesn't kick at night and who likes our new house...
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