January 08, 2011

Will Santa's magic work !

Pranav was asking us for a scooter and a Ben 10 watch. We thought Christmas to be the perfect opportunity to gift him what he desired. We also planned to use it as a bait, to lure him into sleeping on his own bed.

How difficult can it get !

When I presented to him, the idea of asking Santa for scooter, he plainly rejected, saying 'Santa will not be able to deliver such a heavy gift' !

It took a lot of reasoning to convince him that Santa will indeed be able to deliver. Phew ! Next step was to make him believe that Santa will leave the gift only if he finds children sleeping in their own bed. He said that he'll think about it. I considered half the battle won as he did not out-rightly reject the idea ;-)

As Christmas day neared, he stated plainly, 'I think Santa will know where I am sleeping' ! We felt cheated. Kapil and I tried to coax and cajole, threaten and even used some emotional attyachar. But he had made his decision. We could not make out whether he was sure that Santa will deliver his gift or he wasn't too keen on the gift or if he did not really believe that Santa existed !

In any case, we saw no doubt in his eyes and  I wish I could be as decisive as him !

So we all again snuggled together at night, somehow, on the queen size bed...Pranav peacefully, with his Christmas stocking by his side, and we restlessly !

In the morning, in a bid to save our faces, Kapil suggested to keep the gift in the other room, on his bed.

As soon as Pranav woke up, he went to check the stocking. We felt more excited than him to see his reaction ! He opened the gift wrap and found a real watch with Ben 10 figure on it. What followed is difficult to explain....his face lit up and he did a jig with his fist and cried, 'I got it ! I got my watch !' He did not even try looking for scooter and we had to remind him to search for it. He was happy to get the scooter but the watch had made the day for him.

When we mentioned to him that, 'look Santa left the big gift on your bed' , without blinking for a moment, he replied - Santa has made a mess...throwing one gift here and another there ! Ha ! how does these things come to kids ! In our own interest, we stopped the discussion here.

Finally, he got what he wanted without compromising on anything ! We are happy that he has a strong mind of his own and are, secretly, already thinking of embarrassment saving ways in such situations !

May he always listen to our directions , at least sometimes listen to us, always make his own decisions ;-)

9 comments:

  1. of course it isn't easy...it's frustrating one moment and at other times they are cho chweet (read - while sleeping ;-)
    but they don't stop surprising you and sometimes there is so much depth in their small actions...if one wants to stop and ponder !

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  2. Supercool that Pranav doesn't fall for the bargains his parents put forth in lieu for the toys he very well deserves. ;)

    I guess I should introduce myself. Am Surbhi (Nishant's friend), currently studying at IIT Madras.

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  3. :) i have a big smile on my face. My elder son is 5 yr old and this kind of incidents happens almost daily in my home. My next agenda is that he goes to sleep on his own when he turns 5 on coming 16th jan, keeping my fingers crossed.

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  4. Pranav's long term plans are:
    1. To sleep in his own bed after 5 years
    2. To get married after 10 years
    I hope he didn't make these statements with the same decisiveness that he normally exhibits!

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  5. Surbhi, that's true but what surprises is the way he is so sure when he refuses to go for the carrot !
    Good to know you.....and after a long long time I am hearing the word Madras...hasn't it yet switched to IIT Chennai ?

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  6. Neetu...I know...these are everyday decisions for parents as well as kids;-) If you are successful in your endeavor...do share it here :-)

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  7. Hey Shubhra! I know I wud love them to make their own decisions ... as long as they concur with ours!!!! ;-). No not really I really like your attitude in dealing with kids :-) Happy Parenting!

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  8. Purnima, you said it ! what an oxymoron ! I was just trying to be politically correct ;-)

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