prize-winning moments in parenting
Dec. 20th, 2010 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
molly_oThis is the BG's 4th Christmas in the world, but it's the first where she's old enough to have any comprehension/enthusiasm for what might be involved. The Rankin-Bass specials have given her some inkling, and of course we've been talking about it a lot, and a few days ago I added "The Night Before Christmas" to the bedtime story rotation.
Unfortunately -- despite being all in favor of cookies for Santa, etc. -- the BG thinks the Santa in this particular book is kinda scary looking. (She makes me cover his face with my hand when I read, and sometimes I'll let my fingers slip so part of his face shows, and she squeals with mingled joy and terror and says, "He's peeking out!")
So tonight, she ran into our room and slammed the door behind her in Mark's face, and I said no, you never slam doors in people's faces, and then (because I think girls are ill-served by being socialized to be polite at all costs) I amended that to, "Unless there's a bad guy chasing you, and then it's OK to slam that door in his face."
(Which, just -- what was I thinking??? Who says something like that to a 3-year-old at bedtime???)
So then we sat down and read The Night Before Christmas, and -- you see where this is going, I bet -- somehow she conflated the scary Santa in her book with the bad guy Mommy (foolish Mommy!) was just talking about, and after we turned off the lights she called out in the dark to let us know that if Santa was chasing her she would slam that door right. in. his. face.
I called back, "Sweetie, Santa is a good guy," and she didn't even hesitate to contradict me: "No, he's not."
Whoops.
Unfortunately -- despite being all in favor of cookies for Santa, etc. -- the BG thinks the Santa in this particular book is kinda scary looking. (She makes me cover his face with my hand when I read, and sometimes I'll let my fingers slip so part of his face shows, and she squeals with mingled joy and terror and says, "He's peeking out!")
So tonight, she ran into our room and slammed the door behind her in Mark's face, and I said no, you never slam doors in people's faces, and then (because I think girls are ill-served by being socialized to be polite at all costs) I amended that to, "Unless there's a bad guy chasing you, and then it's OK to slam that door in his face."
(Which, just -- what was I thinking??? Who says something like that to a 3-year-old at bedtime???)
So then we sat down and read The Night Before Christmas, and -- you see where this is going, I bet -- somehow she conflated the scary Santa in her book with the bad guy Mommy (foolish Mommy!) was just talking about, and after we turned off the lights she called out in the dark to let us know that if Santa was chasing her she would slam that door right. in. his. face.
I called back, "Sweetie, Santa is a good guy," and she didn't even hesitate to contradict me: "No, he's not."
Whoops.