Unfortunately, no one has created my genius invention of a carseat that kids can't get out of, so, often times as we're driving along, I hear "mom, Abby unbuckled herself" or "Haley unbuckled herself". Now, I always tell the girls that things will make them bloody, because they understand that a lot more than "dead". So, I am always explaining to them that it's really important to stay buckled because if we got in a crash, they would get bloody.
The other day I was so frustrated with the unbuckling that we took a little detour to drive around the parking lot of the county building. I thought that would be a good place to find a sheriff. It wasn't. But, yesterday morning, I looked out our front window and noticed a Highway Patrol parked a little bit down the street. So, we took a little field trip to get a lesson from a "police officer" (I don't know if that's the correct name for a highway patrol). I asked him if he would mind telling my daughters how important it is to stay buckled and he said that was actually his WHOLE job that day; ticketing people for not wearing seatbelts.
Abby, being the friendly child that she is, enthusiastically told him about her new tutu. The officer then told the girls that if they unbuckled themselves, that we would be pulled over and the police man would write mommy and daddy a ticket AND he would TAKE AWAY THEIR TUTUS! Isn't that awesome? It's only been two days, but they have not unbuckled since.
I LOVE this for so many reasons. "Bloody" is a great idea -- it's so much more concrete to a 3-year-old! And also, I love how the girls were more worried about their tutus being taken away than they were about getting bloody. And, I love how kids listen to people other than their parents so much better than they listen to their parents. You have the best ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt's the tutu thing that got em, isn't it? I got my tutu taken away once when my mom ran a red light. Haven't seen it since. I even heard once of a kid getting his kilt taken for a speeding ticket! Look out Seth.
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