Hello Parents,
I have some valuable parenting advise to share with you. As you know, I have a whopping three years of paternal experience and my maternal instinct has been compared to a Cat 5 hurricane level. In other words, I’m just that good. I don’t read Parents magazine, I write it. Now that you know my credentials, let me tell you a little parable that I believe could be very useful to several of you in the future. I like to call this one, “Pirate Sword. Lapse in Judgment.”
When your child reaches that sweet, venerable age of being suckered into the mass marketing of Elmo, and the like, then you know it is time to take him to the motherland of all marketing ploys: Disney World. Let’s say the child is three and a boy. When said child discovers Pirates of the Caribbean , it is probably a bad idea to buy him a plastic sword. However, if you can’t resist those big pleading eyes and acquiesce to this purchase do not feel too badly.
Arriving home from your trip, it is not uncommon for the joys of Disney to linger in child’s mind for several days. Then it happens; child has a great idea to bring Disney memorabilia to school for Show and Share. At first, your brain will explode with rapid fire synopses screaming “BAD IDEA. ABORT! ABORT!” but then those little eyes look right through you and lock onto your soul and you say, “OK.”
Arriving at school, child is proudly holding sword high when walking into the classroom. Then a million little three year old eyes lock onto the plastic weapon and then you know. Brain was right: Pirate sword, bad idea, lapse in judgment. The situation is only compounded by the humiliation of having Miss Terri call YOU into her office to explain why we don’t bring guns, knifes, or SWORDS to Show and Share.
Leaving Miss Terri’s office, parent has swallowed the sword and her pride.
It may be too late for the “fictional” characters in my little story; however an atrocity like this one doesn’t have to happen to you. Be strong moms. Be strong.
