Sunday, December 09, 2007

What To Do When A Child Stops Believing In Santa?! And Kids Birthday Parties Marathon


Yes I know I haven’t posted in awhile but between getting ready for Christmas, prepping for our Disney World vacation in two days, and the 5 birthday parties (3 in one day!) we’ve been to in the last week alone -- their isn’t much time for anything else.

The most interesting birthday party of the bunch was a Scooby Doo themed one in "the hills" with a Scooby and Shaggy impersonator.

During their whole comedy routine about 99% of the parents (entertainment-types) were standing in a nearby tennis court networking while this one mom and I were sitting near our scared kids. They were pretty frightened of the Scooby Doo -- I think maybe because his costume looked like it had a rough night in Tijuana, or maybe because he was holding his tail like a baton and would start hitting kids on the head with it.
When he came close to my daughter she jumped up, screamed and ran away into the crowd of schmoozing parents.

The best part was hearing these two sugared-out kids talk to Scooby:

Boy#1: (around 5 or 6) Hey Scoob! Do you smell your own butt?!
Scooby: (in his breathy Scooby voice) Whaaaat?
Boy#2: (around 5 or 6) Hey Scooby! You’re not going to smell my butt, are you?!”

(all the nearby children start laughing like the Charlie Brown/Peanuts kids…)

Scooby: (in a Brooklyn accent) Leave me alone kid.


Potty Training Update: The Santa Method

My patent-pending Santa Motivation Method (code named: S.M.M.) is starting to lose steam. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but my daughter doesn’t seem to care anymore about Santa bringing her presents on Christmas by going poop on the potty (Darn! A kid stopped believing – what do I do!? What do I do…!?)

In desperation, I made it a point to pass by Santa Claus in the mall today. Standing near the flimsy cardboard fence I knelt down to her level, and in a calm voice gave my recurring line “Remember, Santa only gives presents if you do poopy on the potty…all the time”

She looked at me, and then him. I could tell the wheels were turning (Come on, come one…take the bait...)
She looked me straight in the eyes and excitedly said, “That’s O.K., Santa bringing YOU lots of PRESENTS!!

33 comments:

painted maypole said...

hey, you know, i should get lots of presents, too, with that criteria! sweet!

I ate at KFC last week. I could not help but think of you. ;)

Anonymous said...

My kids have been bugging for for KFC lately. Any suggestions? LOL

It's amazing how 6 year olds are 6 year olds, regardless of where and what parents they have.

Smelling the butt is a common thing here in this 6 year old land. LOL

SciFi Dad said...

Dude, you party with the rich and famous.

And as for the potty training... on the bright side, she'll probably be the first diapered person in MENSA, right? I mean, come on... "I don't use the potty... so no presents for me... but Daddy poops all the time... and he gives me everything... ergo, I get presents by proxy."

Fairly Odd Mother said...

I feel for you on the potty-training issue. I'd try your idea but my son is so petrified of Santa that I'd probably ADD a few years to his diaper wearing time! Sigh.

Karen S. said...

Try potty training rewards. Here is the website www.pottytrainingrewards.com They also have a video on Youtube.com Search under potty training toddler and scroll down. This worked great for my son.

Ben and Bennie said...

Will you consider leaving a comment here sort of like rubbing elbows with lifestyles of the rich & famous (he asks in his awful Robing Leach accent)?

At least your daughter is so very thoughtful of her Dad. Too bad she can't afford to buy you a Wii.

Sarah said...

Both of my kids have birthdays this week. Although they'll be 13 and 16, I think a New Yawkah in a Scooby suit may make their parties the events of the year.

Creative-Type Dad said...

painted maypole --- It's the colonel's picture right? People say we have the same eyes...(the look that says "this is mighty tasty chicken!")

MamaLee --- Give in to that sweet goodness.

Although, be sure they don't smell any butt's while there...that could spoil the fun.

Karen S. -- Thanks! We bought as advent calendar and I did try. The candy thing doesn't seem to work on my kid though. She's more of a sticker hound.

Jason Roth said...

Damn. I was counting on S.M.M. to be a great success.

pixie said...

Santa has seemed to lose power around here too. The Gremlins don't seem to care about how they behave until they actually *see* Santa at the mall. I guess seeing is believing... Kids today!

Amber said...

You know, I think the boys at the party had every right to ask Scooby if he was going to sniff their butts...I mean they were just looking out for themselves...dogs are known to cold nose ya every now and then and I am sure the kids just wanted to be on guard...that is just smart.

Anonymous said...

3 parties in one day? You deserve a vacation.

Enjoy.

Lisa said...

If you're like my husband. He'll leave you at least 3 presents a day! heehee.

I hope they are good ones. :-)

Whit said...

Was that her roundabout way of suggesting you are full of crap?

She's quick.

carrie said...

Sorry Santa isn't working . . .

Have a great time in Disney World! Looking forward to hearing all about your experience when you get back!

Health Watch Center said...

You may have to take her mom's help...:)

Let your girl to watch mommy pee. This will take mother’s privacy but it is worth for your little girl. Girls love to imitate people so if mummy makes a trip to the toilet, it seems most exciting thing to them. But, when it is their turn, they resist using the potty.

The Parents Zone

Redneck Mommy said...

I knew the Santa-shitting method would run it's course. Kids are just too damn wily now a days. Good luck with the potty pooper. And have a great time at Disney.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Maybe with your impending Disney trip, you could try getting her to poop using Mickey Mouse as a bribe, or even Cinderella, instead of Santa. "You know, honey, even princesses poop in the potty! Snow White does it all the time!" Hmmmm, that just sounds wrong somehow.

Oh, and? LOVE the Santa headstone! Snorted coffee on that one!

Anonymous said...

I thought it was just us who had a million thousand parties to go to. So far I have had to endure at least one every weekend. So It's all down to Valentine's Day then???

We have 'fairies' who live in our house who leave special notes for chidren who try very hard to stay dry through the night etc. Saying something like "We know you are trying very hard to......so every time you do...... we will leave you a magic star. When you have 5 stars you should put them in your magic place (ie box or window sill) and we will leave you something special".

It worked for me and both my boys - and you can even turn it into a game to 'find' the star.

I would have thought something like this would work wonders when in Disneyland!

have a great trip - so jealous!
Gail

Creative-Type Dad said...

Roth Family Adventures --me too...

Tismee2 -- Wow! What an interesting idea. I might have to try that when my daughter is a little older, she didn't get the rewards chart at all. (actually, I hope she just uses the toilet now...)

health watch center -- The wife has been doing that for the last 6 months. It works sometimes, it works more whe she has a friend who uses it. That works wonders! (peer pressure)

Darren said...

Hope you're having a great vacation. Some year I want to go in December.

Heather said...

Just goes to show...you can't shit a bullshitter. ha! Or in your case, you can't shit a no-shitter

Isn't fun getting outsmarted by your kids ALL of the time? Wheeeee!

wayabetty said...

You pull on one me...and I'll pull one better on you Mister! In your face daddy! Hope you'll have a blast at Disney!

Dad Stuff said...

Now that Santa has lost his power you will have to move on to New Year's. Dick Clark won't bring another new year unless the potty is full.

The Real Mother Hen said...

Wow have fun vacationing in Disney World :)
PS: Your daughter is smart :)

Maureen said...

I know what you mean about a busy time of year.... I am only able to blog cause I am out of town on a business trip. Otherwise, I'd be cooking, cleaning, wrapping and shopping at home! Have a great trip!

Anonymous said...

The Santa grave picture is priceless.

My kid is potty trained, but I have been using Santa to get other things out of her. I have her convinced that I can call him on the phone and report her misbehavior immediately.

I'm so screwed when Christmas is over. Do you think she'll buy that the Easter Bunny knows when you've been bad or good?

andi from Poot and Cubby

LBA said...

Love the Scooby-taunting..

Hey - you probably already know, but the hubs just read out to me about KFC=Christmas in Japan !

I did a google and there's some great supporting images here:
http://misscellania.blogspot.com/2005/12/christmas-in-japan.html

Anyway, I can't talk - I served sushi as part of a Christmas party do yesterday...

LBA said...

P.S. - why'd you edit out Screech ?

Anonymous said...

My kid doesn't know what Santa is yet so can't potty train. Its like Im like an adult in the PEANUTS...wah waha waha wa waha wa!

Anonymous said...

Yuck! Those costume rental guys usually buy those things second-hand and are super-skanky. They scare me too.

kittenpie said...

Oh god, why do parents hire entertainers for parties? I've never seen it go well...

And seriously. Santa? How does that go? how about:
He knows if you've been pooping,
he knows if go pee,
He knows if it's in pants or pot,
so be careful where you wee!

Creative-Type Dad said...

kittenpie -- wow! I like it

h&b -- KFC for Christmas!! I think I want to spend every Christmas is Japan from now on...