It seems an inevitability that every parent comes to a point where they risk traumatizing their child with the hope of achieving a small sliver of sanity. I have a friend who told her daughter that bees like sticky, sweet things so if she didn’t get her hands washed after meals they might come in the house and sting her.
I think she’s become a big fan of pre-meal cleanliness.
You may remember Christopher Noxon, author of Rejuvenile and the feature interview from our thirteenth podcast. (You can listen to all of our podcasts here.) He recently helped his daughter conquer her hiccups via similarly questionable means. Sometimes you just gotta do whatever it takes. Enjoy this cautionary tale.
Oh My Goodness!!!
I did the same thing to Joe, my 9 year old, when he was 5 or 6. He had the hickups for a long time so, after trying everything else, I decided to scare him by simply accusing him of doing something wrong (Joe had very tender feelings). He started balling at the thought that he might be in trouble even though I hadn’t given him an exact reason for it. His hickups were gone but I felt terrible! He doesn’t appear scarred and it has been a few years now.
Thanks for the video! I am glad I am not the only insane parent out there.
Sometimes a parent has to do what a parent has to do…and really, can a parent be blamed for being insane when it’s the kids who make them that way? :)
When I was little, I never wanted to go to bed at night. My older sister (16 yrs older — it was a big family) would tell me that I could stay downstairs if I wanted, but everyone else was going to go to bed and that she was turning out all the lights. If I got tired, she said, I could lie down on the rug in the cold with all the bugs and spiders. As a young child, I had a TERRIFIC fear of insects and also of being the last one up the stairs!
Gotta love older siblings…
I wouldn’t know, because I was the oldest. However, I would NEVER do anything so cruel to my younger brothers. (Just don’t ask them to confirm this bold claim.)