We're in a shop, The Girl and I, spending twenty minutes quality time with a plastic shopping basket, me dully repeating 'no no no' to increasingly whiney requests for:
String cheese
fruit shoots
muffins the size of a child's head
magazines stuffed with plastic shit
fizzy drinks with 'added antioxidants'
doughnuts topped with penicillin pink icing
'But the TV says it's good for you!' cries The Girl with increasing frustration. Just as I'm running out of responses that don't involve swear words, we make it to the top of the queue to pay, and The Girl spies a charity box for the local hospice. And in a sudden about turn, she asks if she can put all her pocket money in the exciting little hole at the top. 'All of it?' I ask. She nods firmly. Even the lady at the till enquires, 'Are you sure you want to put all your pocket money in there love?' The Girl is firm. She takes her money, slots it in and I smile benignly (it probably comes across as smug though). 'Her grandmother died recently', I whisper to the till lady and we exchange smiles at the wonder, the purity, the generosity of children.
Alas, when she gets home, The Girl counts her piggy bank money and bursts into sobs. 'I thought I had five pounds!'
I am bewildered. 'But you gave this week's pocket money away.'
She cries even harder. 'I thought it was YOUR money!'
5 comments:
Oh that made me laugh. So easy to be generous with someone else's stuff isn't it?
I too spend a lot of time being very reasonable, quietly reiterating No, and then WHY I said no, and then "I'm sorry but..." eventually you so hope you don't go "because I BLOODY WELL SAID SO..." at the top of your voice in a suddenly quiet store.
Then you get those looks... I think I need a t-shirt that says "Don't judge me".
Hmm...no,no,no is a good response. Yesterday I overheard a frazzled mum responding to the crying daughter she was carying in her arms saying 'I thought I'd made my position clear when we discussed this earlier..I'm afraid that I'm just not prepared to negotiate...
I guess they drive you to it.
Aarrghh! That's one of those 'what do I say now?' moments. Love your list of supermarket products. Especially the penicillin pink icing. So true.
@Gillian - it's so wearing isn't it? We try to be reasonable but sometimes you just crack and then you get LOOKS from other parents.
@Anon - 'I'm not prepared to negotiate'! To a three year old? Still, if it works . . .
@Fran - yeah the pink icing. I try not to be too anal about sinister ingredients but that pink icing really spooks me. I did hear one mum put her child off McDonalds by saying they made chicken nuggets out of 'chickens bottoms'!!
made me laugh - can just picture the face of a very upset little girl - how could you not have reminded her it was her money not yours!!!!!
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