A change of tactics

For a good chunk of my parenthood I have had some odd helpers around the house. Kids? Well, sometimes. But we have had many guest appearances by big celebrities. Just to name we a few-

• Spiderman
• Darth Vader
• Superman
• Ironman
• Superhero

It is possible they have appeared in your home too.

I keep wanting to refere to this in past tense but it is still going on in my home occasionally.

Though less often, I still have to pull out the "alter ego tactic" with my kids at times.

Naomi went through a phrase where she would flatly refuse to do ANYTHING  you asked her to do if you said "Naomi". Now if you said "Puppy, it is time to put away your laundry." That puppy would gladly go right to work. One of the slight problems was that you had to know who she was that day. If you called her by the wrong name she would either ignore the command or you would be informed of the correct character in front of you.

We have had laundry put away and dishwashers unloaded by-

• The above mentioned super heroes, and yes some days it was simply "Super hero".
• Puppy
• Baby kitty
• Ducky
• Raphael the Ninja Turtle
• Mouse
• Ninja
• Monkey
• And..... baby Godzilla.

Maybe at your house your kid needs a break from chores. Maybe you need to enlist a Ninja Turtle to clean that bedroom full of dangerous bombs up. (Sometimes it helps if you switch into your own alter ego. I have been known to be a Ninja Sensai in my time.)

Go ahead, spice things up.