• Flying Squid
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    306 months ago

    I can’t speak for other kids, but being honest with mine seems to work pretty well. “Why do I have to put away the dishes?” “Because if you don’t, we won’t be able to wash the dirty ones and then we’ll get roaches. Do you want roaches? No. So put away the dishes.”

    • @Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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      126 months ago

      Yeah, that’s the tack I’m taking with mine. No sense in lying because it’s not good for your relationship, and I can’t be bothered to keep track of a bunch of lies.

      • Flying Squid
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        76 months ago

        I didn’t even like doing Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but my wife insisted. I’m glad that era is over.

        • @soycapitan451@lemmy.world
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          46 months ago

          Feel you. I got accused by my brother in law of being some kind of psychopath for not wanting Santa in the house.

          In their house, my sister is already using the threat of Christmas big brother against any minor hijinks that their kid gets up to.

          I have a three year old, so unfortunately, I have another 4 years of this nonsense ahead of me.

          • Jojo, Lady of the West
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            36 months ago

            In their house, my sister is already using the threat of Christmas big brother against any minor hijinks that their kid gets up to.

            Oof, that seems a bit much to me. Does she tell stories about the bogeymen or Baba Yaga, too? I’d rather my child be concerned with the actual consequences for their actions rather than the imagined ones

            • @Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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              36 months ago

              There’s some research that says Santa, the Easter bunny, etc. are good for teaching kids skepticism. Plus it’s fun. I’ll often move their stuffed animals so it looks like they were doing something when the kids are asleep so they can get a little bit of magic

              But, threatening with Santa is actually bad parenting because #1 it’s a bit traumatic of a threat but #2 they’ll figure out damn fast that you’re bluffing. Never threaten a punishment you aren’t prepared to dish out (and never dish out a punishment you wouldn’t feel comfortable explaining to the kid as an adult)

              • Jojo, Lady of the West
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                16 months ago

                Yeah, it’s not the very idea of Santa I’m railing against here, it’s using him as a bogeyman to control behaviour.

                • @soycapitan451@lemmy.world
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                  16 months ago

                  Yes, I agree, a terrible parenting strategy. Also fuck elf on the shelf, since the whole book is about how the elf is Santa’s spy and you can’t question or touch it. I’m pretty sure this is what gave her the awful idea.

        • @Amanduh@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          Do you have to be in every single thread picking fights with people over the dumbest shit?

          • Flying Squid
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            6 months ago

            You think I’m picking a fight with @Passerby6497? By saying that I agree with what they’re doing?

    • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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      -56 months ago

      But you would still be able to wash the dirty ones. This is just a lighter lie (which imo is totally fine).

      • Flying Squid
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        46 months ago

        Where would I put the dirty dishes so I could wash them if the sink is already full?

            • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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              -76 months ago

              Not at all, but I’m also not stumped by having the sink full so much that I’m literally not capable of washing the dishes lmao. A kid might believe that since kids are fucking idiots but not an adult, surely

              • Flying Squid
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                36 months ago

                Then you must have a large sink or you must wash dishes every single time you eat rather than once a day. We don’t have time for that.

                • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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                  -86 months ago

                  I love how this has got you absolutely stumped. You can pick stuff from the sink and put it out of the way. You can pile it on the goddamn floor if you need to. Whether your kid puts the dishes away or not is actually what allows you to wash the dishes. You could also move them. But you say the kid needs to do that so you can wash the dishes (even though you could wash them without it). It just makes it more convenient. See what I mean?

                  • Flying Squid
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                    56 months ago

                    It’s “got me absolutely stumped” because we have a small kitchen and a small sink. There’s no room. We could put them on the floor, but we have dogs. Conceivably we could do something like put all the dishes on a shelf in the living room and come and get them one by one to clean them. Maybe you think that would teach my daughter something, but other than ‘my parents are doing something silly when we could just use the dishwasher,’ I don’t know what it would be.

                    Could it be that you don’t know my situation because you’ve never been to my home?

      • @howrar@lemmy.ca
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        16 months ago

        It takes a lot longer to wash if you go that route. If you don’t have enough time for that, then you can’t do it without foregoing your other responsibilities. That qualifies as “can’t”. It’s a lie as much as telling elementary school kids that the sky is blue is a lie. We simplify things because kids don’t have the ability to follow all the complex interactions between everything going on in their lives.