Big Mother

I am very aware of how I throw propaganda into my kids' bedtime stories. I can't seem to help not attaching an agenda, or espousing some lesson or moral. I try to keep it fun and light, but manage to preach, hopefully below their awareness level.

Tonight I found myself trying to tell an adventurous story about Otto and his friends going to the pool (Otto is a dog. We love his books and have borrowed him as the feature in our bedtime stories. The rest of the friends are made up--Tikki Torch the mouse, Sparky the pig and Lawnmower the cat just to name a few).

Everything was going smoothly until I came to the part when all of the friends were getting ready to jump in the pool. Uh oh...I can see it now. Autumn taking a page from the bedtime story and jumping with abandon into the pool next time we go. So...I begin with Tikki Torch--he CANNOT swim so he has a LIFE VEST on and HOLDS ON TO THE WALL AT ALL TIMES!!!

Then, since Willow is a level up from Autumn, Lawnmower is assigned with beginner swimmer status--needs the life jacket, but can paddle around freely. Otto and Sparky, however, have taken MANY swim lessons and can even jump off the diving board. They are sooo grateful for all of their swimming lessons since now they can freely swim around (get the picture? I probably don't need to emphasize how much Willow hated her attempt at lessons).

I believe that this method is better than just lecturing them--seeing real life play out with dolls or characters in a book gives them a reference point. I am, after all, a huge Joseph Campbell fan. Perhaps these are merely mini-myths helping my kids figure out life and all its glory (and trials). Its just that I, big mother, have a little say in who what when where why and how...at least for now ;)