It was time for bed last night. One child was already asleep in his crib, the other one standing at the edge of my bed asking to sleep with mommy and daddy. The answer was no, but that doesn't mean we had to send him off to his own bed just yet. Hubby felt bad because the look on our son's face was so heartbreaking... so to cheer him up, he dug through his pockets and pulled out some loose change. David absolutely LOVES putting coins in his piggy bank. He doesn't know what they are for yet, but he loves saving them.
So David runs into his bedroom and grabs his piggy bank, and brings it back to our bed.
#1: He knows how to save money, and he knows that you can never save too much.
Very carefully, he picks up one coin at a time and drops it in the slot in the little blue piggy's back. Soon he has successfully saved every coin.
Then he holds out his hand for more.
While cracking up laughing, hubby goes over to his computer desk and grabs a few coins from next to his keyboard. He thinks for a moment, and tells David that he will give him more coins if he can earn them.
So, the games begin.
#2- #8: He knows that if he points to body parts and performs activities when prompted, there is the possibility of a monetary reward.
"David, where is your nose?" David puts his finger on his nose.
"Good job! Where is your mouth?" David opens his mouth wide and puts a finger in his mouth.
"Very good! Now where are your eyes?" David squints and places a finger on first one eye, then the other.
"Alright, good job David! You're so smart! But do you know where your ears are?" David wiggles a finger around his ear.
"Good job! Just a few more! Can you... clap?" David claps excitedly.
"Alright, can you... wave?" David waves with his left hand, pauses, then waves with his right hand. Apparently to make sure we were satisfied.
"Last one... Where are your feet?" David lifts a leg and wiggles his toes.
"GOOD JOB!!!! We're so proud of you! You're so smart! Here you go!" And David begins very carefully inserting the next handful of coins into his piggy bank.
When he is finished, he looks up at us, babbles something in his own little language, and points over to the computer desk where he knows there may be some coins. He then points back to the slot in the little blue piggy's back, and babbles some more. It is obvious he is telling us to get him some more coins for his bank.
#9: He knows where we keep other money, and where it needs to be (A.K.A. in his piggy bank).
Hubby and I could not stop laughing. We were making comments on how teaching a child is apparently as easy as training a dog. We are essentially making our child do tricks for treats. (This was the first time we had tested his knowledge with an actual reward other than hugs and lots of praise, and although we don't want to encourage this sort of thing, it was very entertaining.) Hubby gets up and grabs one last handful of coins, this time from our own coin jar. He sits back on the bed and tells David that these are the last ones for the night. Hubby pauses for a moment before giving him the coins, so that he could let me know that although he did take them from our jar of coins, they're bound to last longer and go to a better cause in David's piggy bank. Which I agreed with.
The few moments it took for us to exchange that short conversation was just too long for David. He must have thought we were going to ask him more questions, because when we looked back at him, he was touching his mouth, then nose, eyes, ears... he was waving, then holding up first one foot, then the other. That sent us reeling in laughter so hard that I fell backwards on the bed. I was in physical pain from laughing so hard. We hugged David and assured him that he wasn't required to perform tricks for the coins, we were going to give them to him anyways.
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| Climbing into a computer chair to search for more coins. |
He put the coins into his piggy, and we began easing into the idea of him going to his own bed now. Just before we were about to get up and walk him to his room, hubby says, "Hey David, where is your nose?" David turns to face his daddy, cocks one eyebrow, and promptly holds out his hand.
#10: He knows not to follow through on his end of the deal without cash in hand.
Okay, David. You can sleep with mommy and daddy tonight. I daresay you've earned it. Besides, if we wait another minute I might literally die of laughter.
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