Little Red Driving Slippers: An A+ Parenting Fairy Tale

Two brothers. One pair of red Lightning McQueen slippers. The A+ Parenting Moment That Would Change Everything. 

One morning, the older brother was supposed to be eating the oatmeal he'd requested (which his mother had so lovingly prepared). Instead, he and his younger brother were standing on the couch, looking out the windows, and watching garbage trucks drive by on the street. (This happened to occur on the day of the weekly festival known colloquially as Garbage Truck Day.)

Suddenly, the mother heard a blood-curdling, shiver-inducing shriek, the cry of a maddened wolf spotting his prey. Half a moment later, she heard a rising crescendo, the answering scream of an innocent young creature in distress.

The mother sprang into action. Surely, some rabid animal has attacked!

Indeed, the younger brother had committed the most egregious of crimes: The putting on of the older brother's red Lightning McQueen slippers. The older brother had reacted with wild animal instincts, snatching the slippers off the offender's tiny feet, screaming maniacally, and flinging the slippers onto the floor across the room, where no one could reach them. The younger brother had cried out at the older brother's rapid ferocity and injustice.

And there, the mother found them: Two brothers, with no slippers, panting.

The mother intuitively recognized the opportunity for an A+ Parenting Moment. She knelt down on the floor, and gazed into the older brother's brown eyes - nay, his very soul.

"If you scream at your brother, then when he learns to talk, that is the way he will talk to you."

The older brother was silent, surely processing the deep wisdom that was piercing his heart.

"So you need to talk to your brother the way you want him to talk to you."

The mother watched as these life-changing words made their way into the essence of his being.

The forest suburban animals sang songs of rejoice! Invisible fairies danced in the air around mother and son!

And the mother knew: Her darling, gentle son would never, ever raise his voice to his younger brother again.

And that's A+ Parenting Today.

Let's Play "Cherry Kool-Aid... or Blood?"

A+ Parenting isn't all fun and games. I mean, there are diapers. Fun? No. Game? No. There is Candy Land. Fun? No. Game? Yes. And there is destruction. Fun? Sometimes (not for you). Game? Sometimes (also, not for you). 

Here's a little game we played at our house this week, called: "Cherry Kool-aid... or Blood?"

Set-Up:

1. Have a young friend over to the house. Call this friend "Sparky" to protect his or her identity. Sparky should be funny, impulsive, independent, and adventurous. Some of the best friends are, right? So anyway, you should have Sparky over to your house. Your kids will be excited, I promise.
2. Have three 5-pound packages of raw hamburger meat in the refrigerator for your upcoming freezer meal swap. Sam's Club or Costco memberships are optional, but recommended. 
3. Go upstairs. For optimum game play experience, Sparky should be left to his or her own devices for a short period of time.

Game Play:

1. Sparky opens the refrigerator, probably to get out some milk.
2. Sparky calls out to your child, "Uh, Your Child's Name, we have a little problem here."
3. Assume the problem is some spilled milk. And there's no use crying. Keep doing what you're doing.
4. Your child goes downstairs to Sparky.
5. Your child says, "Um... I think that's blood."
6. Sparky says, "Well, I tasted it."
7. You go downstairs, quickly now.

How the Game Ends:

1. Check the floor. Observe several large red drops that look like Cherry Kool-Aid... or Blood. One has clearly been swiped at and tasted. 
2. Ask yourself: Cherry Kool-Aid... or Blood?"
3. If you:
1. Have no Cherry Kool-Aid, AND
2. Look in the refrigerator and clearly see that blood has leaked out of one of the 5-lb hamburger packages, THEN

Congratulations!!! You win! Or you lose!

That's "Cherry Kool-Aid... Or Blood?"

And that's A+ Parenting Today.