Telling the truth is an important lesson for children to learn. Practising what you preach is a good one for the parents. Taking your toddler for a walk while Daddy engages in adult negotiations is the best lesson yet.
We are trying to sell our campervan. We had someone come to look at it. All we had to do was sit nicely on the bed (it poured outside) and play Uno while my husband did the talking. Sounds easy enough, only my 3 year old wanted to communicate with Eric and the first thing he said, with all the animation of an exciting tale of adventure was, “The van was leaking! The van leaking when it was raining all day at the other caravan park and…and…and it was leaking on mum and dad’s bed!” I froze, panic written all over my face and because I didn’t respond immediately to his honest account, he continued, in search of reinforcement. “It was leaking, wasn’t it Mummy? Wasn’t it?”
My husband pitched in, with a nervous laugh and a mumble, “Yeah, well we should close the window next time.” Our son looked at us, baffled. How on earth did rain get on Mum and Dad’s bed through the window? Could rain really turn corners and come in sideways? Hmm…
Eric hasn’t called back.
