Sheryl and Sons

Sheryl and Sons
I told you they were big.

Monday, March 26, 2012

My Best Parenting Idea EVER

When my son Rob unwrapped his birthday gift and pulled his first cell phone out of the box, my younger son, Jesse, immediately wanted one too.  Really, really wanted one.  

Jesse explained that he didn't just want a cell phone, but he needed one!  What if he had to stay after school to get tutoring for a very important math test?  What if the coach didn't show up for basketball practice and there were no grown ups to help them?  What if he was hit by a car while riding his bike and was bleeding to death on the sidewalk and no one stopped, and even though he was about to die he had the energy to make one phone call to 911 and an ambulance came and SAVED HIS LIFE??? Jesse was suddenly obsessed with getting a cell phone, and he could not think or talk about anything else.

I told him that I would consider getting him a cell phone for his 12th birthday, but that was nine months away.  We could NOT have this conversation every minute of every day for the next nine months, and I told him that we could talk about it again one month before his birthday.

All was quiet for a day or two, but then he slipped and brought it up again.  And then another time. And several more.  I lost my temper and told him that was enough, but he broke into tears and said, "But Mom, I'm thinking of it ALL THE TIME!"  I didn't know what to do.

The next day I picked up Jesse and a teammate from basketball practice, and drove to the other boy's house  to drop him off.  Jesse asked if he could stay and play.  I didn't object to the play date, but would not be able to come back later to pick Jesse up.  The boy didn't live too far from us, and it was a nice day, so I told Jesse he could stay but he would have to get himself home.

Jesse nearly jumped over the seat and screamed, "WHAT??"

I was confused.  I didn't think this play date was such a big deal.  I repeated myself. "You can play, but you need to get yourself home."

"OH MOM!" Jesse wailed, sounding like a wounded animal. "I thought you said, 'You need to get your CELL PHONE!'"

He really was thinking of it all the time, and we needed to work something out.  It was unrealistic to imagine that he was going to keep quiet about this for eight months.

I had an idea that I thought might work.  I told him that he could not keep begging me for a cell phone because it made me angry, but if he was thinking about it, and he wanted to tell me, we could have a secret password.  We decided he would say to me, "Mom, you look so beautiful and skinny today!" and I would know what was on his mind.

This turned out to be the perfect solution.  By the time his birthday arrived nine months later, I was happy to buy that sweet child whatever he wanted.

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