Getting The Kids To Stop Asking "Why?"
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 8:22AM You’d think once your kids reach the age of six and eight that the “why daddy’s” would stop.
Yeah, not so much.
It’s gotten so bad that now when I answer the children’s question I try to be completely honest about everything in the answer I give, in the hopes they’ll be so brain-numb afterwards they’ll just walk away.
Example
Child: “Daddy, can we buy Kool-Aid?”
Me: “No, because it’s loaded with sugar which is not good for you and will make you hyper and completely out-of-control which will then get you into trouble with your brother, friends, dog, and us and will then cause mommy and daddy to yell at you and send you to your room with you crying while mommy and daddy stay downstairs and fight ultimately getting a divorce leaving you to have to live with mommy and see daddy on the weekend where I’m living in a one room shack crying, not showering, and surrounded by phone numbers of call girls which are girls that daddy has to pay money to have dinner with him. AND…it contains red dye 40 which will make your head explode from nasty chemicals people pumped into the sugary drink just so it’s the color red in the hopes we’ll drink more of it and provide the boss of the company with more money he can spend on bigger houses and more cars.”
And it worked.
Well…not at first.
At first they laughed and thought it was the most hilarious thing they’d ever heard. Half of what came rambling out of my mouth they couldn’t understand, but for some reason it was just hilarious to them.
Then…the light bulb went off. If I give their mother a long rambling answer they’ll see her immediately get disgusted and walk away.
They’ll learn by example!
So, I waited….and waited. And then…
Wife: “Honey, let’s go to Ikea and look around for a little bit. Maybe have lunch there with the kids.”
Me: “Schnookums, I don’t think that’s really a good idea. First of all the last time we went there both kids ended-up getting the puke bug from playing in the kid’s zone, while you got mad at me for publicly confessing in a very loud manner that you were the hottest MILF within eyesight, and after we made our huge purchase we spent an hour trying to find a clear spot where we could roll the cart to the car without having a 4-foot tall curb blocking us in and eventually we couldn’t so I had to go get the car and fight half the SUVs in Chicago for a space to back in and load the stuff we…..”
I quit at that point because she was long gone.
The kids? They took every bit of it into their tiny little developing brains and slowly digested it.
Then, the magic words came out as I overheard the daughter say to the boy, “I kinda don’t ever want to go to Ikea again.”
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed a semi-blissful existence of having the first answer I give be the only answer I have to give.
And my responses are getting shorter and shorter. Usually by the time I’m taking my first breath so I can keep my ramble going, one of the kids just yell “fine daddy!!” And walk away to something else.
Now that, my dear people, is “winning.”
For now…
Reader Comments (13)
What a brilliant idea! My son hasn't reached the Why? stage yet, but, you better believe I'm going to try this when he does get there!
That is why I stopped going to Dicks Sporting Goods with my husband :-p
I'd completely fear when your kids start answering why they can't do their homework in the same fashion...but I'm going to start adding this maneuver to my own arsenal :-)
BRILLIANT I TELL YOU, BRILLIANT!!!!!
A stellar parenting idea! Nice job.
Genius.
Had to let my husband read this one...we are cry laughing!
That is the best example of winning I have ever heard.
Very good idea. I assume you swiped it from your wife. "Honey, can we have sex...."
Hilarious. Pure genius ... will use this tactic in a few years time when I need it !
It seems you've mastered the art of 'bore them into submission.' Kudos to you, little grasshopper
You would make an EXCELLENT homily writer for Catholic Priests! BTW, I avoid IKEA at all costs - unless it is my turn to cook. Then, stopping by for some "swedish meatballs" is a PERFECT idea - cheap and no clean up. FYI, I think IKEA is a swedish word that means, "Those Americans think we actually buy this SHIT"
When my kids ask why, my husband always says "Because of Winn Dixie". None of us have ever seen the movie but it makes me laugh every single time.
Just found your blog and am laughing!