It has been many years since I have to reason with a small child. It's clear I have lost some of my skill. How was I supposed to know that my brother-in-law had put the car seat, that has been in the foyer since I got here, back in his van this morning.
Now, in hindsight, I should have checked that the booster seat was still there before announcing a trip to the McDonald's play place for lunch. Once I had to tell my 4 year old niece that we couldn't go because we didn't have a car seat, her entire world crumbled. Tears, foot stomping, crossed arms, glaring eyes. "My dad shouldn't have done that!" "YOU should have told him NOT to". I can't argue with her logic, I should have made sure.
I tried to make it better by telling her we'd go for dinner. She doesn't WANT to go later. In fact she has decided that she doesn't want to go anywhere, ever again.
Being that I'm not her mother, and I only want her to love me all the time, I resorted to bribery. Tostitos and chocolate for lunch, and full run of the TV. She was in a coma staring at the boob tube in about 5 minutes. She has totally forgotten about my bad auntie moment, and I'm back in her good graces. Her mother can deal with the fact that I gave in to her fit, I'm going back to North Carolina tomorrow.
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