Parenting Lesson Number Seven Hundred and Five
Or what seemed a brilliant idea at the time, comes back and bites your bum!
A few weeks ago, I bought a Butternut Squash for a meal. They are very nice and make a good part of a meal. My daughter, who is now 3 watches a TV programme called 'Mr Bloom', where (apart from the awful, faked Northern Accent, because only Northerners have allotments, of course), he has a shed of animate Vegetables, who he has adventures with and so do the children who visit his allotment. One, as you may have gathered is a Butternut squash, called, 'Raymond'. He is bit slow, but eminently 'lovable' because of this. So, my brain wave was drawing a face on 'our' Butternut squash and e Voila, 'Raymond' has visited my daughters house!
Today was the day that 'Raymond' faced the chop. Literally. But as the act was to be done, so to speak. My daughter came in and said, 'No, don't chop Raymond'. I then tried to explain that it wasn't Raymond, but just a nameless Butternut squash who needed eating. This did not work. As I raised the Knife again, she said. 'Daddy, you can't eat Raymond, don't chop Raymond!'.
At this point I looked my daughter in the eye, thought about trying to explain again that it wasn't Raymond, but what I actually did was give my daughter 'Raymond' and she toddled off happily into the front room talking to 'Raymond'. When I then go into the front room she had tucked him up to watch TV!
There is a lesson here for us all I think. What might seem a brilliant is not always the case. It also shows, I think, that children have such fantastic imaginations that I miss being 3 and my daughter has a natural compassion to 'animated Vegetables', which I guess is why she likes her daddy so much!
The final lesson is that no other vegetables will be bought to life in this house!
A few weeks ago, I bought a Butternut Squash for a meal. They are very nice and make a good part of a meal. My daughter, who is now 3 watches a TV programme called 'Mr Bloom', where (apart from the awful, faked Northern Accent, because only Northerners have allotments, of course), he has a shed of animate Vegetables, who he has adventures with and so do the children who visit his allotment. One, as you may have gathered is a Butternut squash, called, 'Raymond'. He is bit slow, but eminently 'lovable' because of this. So, my brain wave was drawing a face on 'our' Butternut squash and e Voila, 'Raymond' has visited my daughters house!
Today was the day that 'Raymond' faced the chop. Literally. But as the act was to be done, so to speak. My daughter came in and said, 'No, don't chop Raymond'. I then tried to explain that it wasn't Raymond, but just a nameless Butternut squash who needed eating. This did not work. As I raised the Knife again, she said. 'Daddy, you can't eat Raymond, don't chop Raymond!'.
At this point I looked my daughter in the eye, thought about trying to explain again that it wasn't Raymond, but what I actually did was give my daughter 'Raymond' and she toddled off happily into the front room talking to 'Raymond'. When I then go into the front room she had tucked him up to watch TV!
There is a lesson here for us all I think. What might seem a brilliant is not always the case. It also shows, I think, that children have such fantastic imaginations that I miss being 3 and my daughter has a natural compassion to 'animated Vegetables', which I guess is why she likes her daddy so much!
The final lesson is that no other vegetables will be bought to life in this house!
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