What kids really understand (from 10/27/07 MySpace blog)

I've been meaning to write about this for the last week, but keep forgetting.

Last week there was a "family night" at the Head Start. That night, the focus was on NOT smoking or chewing tobacco. There was a puppet show (that Thomas had no interest in) to teach the kids (and hopefully the parents) of the dangers of smoking. The one thing that absolutely fascinated Thomas was the display for the chewless tobacco. It showed the (gross) effects on one's teeth, tongue and rest of the mouth. Explaining what actually caused that would have been fruitless since Thomas is never around anyone who chews or smokes tobacco.

Because we have a REAL problem with Thomas not brushing his teeth or letting us do it, we fibbed a little bit. We told him that 'yucky stuff' was some cheetos, cereal, and juice that didn't get brushed off the person's teeth. Of course, he was puzzled WHERE the person was who's teeth had fallen out and landed just where they did. The face was missing.

BUT...it worked. As soon as we got home, he went to the bathroom and said he NEEDED to brush his teeth. 10 days later, he's still brushing his teeth about 4 or 5 times a day.
Whatever works.