This is a long video clip but if you start watching it somewhere around the 2:30 mark you will get to why I am posting it.
Brooklyn watched this movie the other day for the first time. To say that she loved it was an understatement. Her favorite part was (as you will see in the clip) when she buys ice cream and candy for all the orphan kids. Little did I know how this movie would impact her life. Even if it wasn't intentional. Let me explain.
We just celebrated Brook's 6th birthday. She has the best grand parents and great grand parents that sent her cards with a little birthday money inside. She was so excited about the money since there are several things that she wants to save her money for, like a Nintendo DS. She only has one weakness though...the ice cream man. As a diabetic this is really difficult for her to pass up but I almost always tell her no she can't buy anything from the ice cream man.
Well the other day she had been outside playing. She must have heard the music from the truck when it was several streets over. I am quite sure she thought that she had her own money so there was no need to ask for permission. Next thing I know I hear the ice cream truck right outside and she was walking through the front door holding a big ice cream that she had just bought. I asked her where she got the money for it, she replied it was her birthday money. I was trying not to be mad, trying to understand that it is her money and it wouldn't hurt anything if she wanted to do this just once. So I asked her where the rest of her birthday money was. " I gave it to the [other kids in the circle] so they could buy some" she replied. I started adding up how much money she got for her birthday and just realized she had handed out $40 to a handful of kids in the circle to buy ice cream! I went running outside just as the ice cream truck was pulling away, I am sure smirking at me knowing what had just happened. I saw all the kids running into their homes with HANDFULS of ice cream and cotton candy. I flipped! I told Brook what she had done and from the look on her eyes she was pretty mortified! (May I just add that she doesn't understand yet the difference between a one dollar bill and anything else. To her it is all the same.) So I asked/yelled at the kids to give me back all the change that they had from her birthday money. I asked one kid how much she gave him " She gave me a $20 bill." he says. " I need the change, she shouldn't have given that to you! Most importantly since you are in the 3rd grade I would have figured you would have known better than to take a $20 bill from a kindergartner to buy ice cream!" He emptied his pocket and gave me the change. $1.50!!!! I was so mad!! The other kids all handed me the change they had too. Total the neighborhood kids spent over $17 of Brooklyn's birthday money to buy ice cream.
All I could think of, after I cooled down of course, was Pippi Longstocking. My silly Brooklyn was just trying to be nice.
And may I make a public apology to all the parents and kids on my circle. Yes, I was pretty mad that she handed out her money, but I was even more mad that kids that are way older than her accepted $30 without question. Buying ice cream from the creepy ice cream man is now off limits! And for the record, I didn't make any of them pay her back. Lesson learned I guess!
And really we are all laughing about it now!
2 comments:
That story is funny and not funny all at the same time! You have a sweet daughter to be so willing to share with everyone. I'm glad you're all laughing because really, what else can you do?
This is exactly the kind of thing I see Robbie doing. I guess you just have to tell yourself its better that they want to be nice to others and under-value money than that they over-value money at the expense of kindness. Kids are born perfect. It's being taken advantage of that turns us into cynics. I'm glad you got her change back. Hopefully they all learned a lesson about taking advantage of generosity and - unfortunately - Brooklyn learned that people will try to take advantage.
This is one reason we hang on to Robbie's money for him (besides his piggy bank full of ones and change). It's still his money but purchases have to pass the "mom test".
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