My partner took our son to buy me a holiday present this year. We want to make sure he understands the spirit of gift giving as well as receiving. Being three, however, he was unable to resist telling me before I opened it, “We got you a surprise, Mommy. It’s a bathrobe!”
When I took him to buy my partner’s present, I tried a different tactic. “Don’t tell Momma what we got her. Just say ‘It’s an elephant!'”
It worked like a charm. He got a big giggle out of pointing to the small box and saying, “We got you an elephant, Momma!”
The winter holidays are over, but I wanted to pass along this trick for use on birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and any other occasion that warrants gifts.
I had a momentary qualm about encouraging what is by some definition a lie—but I think it’s important that kids learn the difference between acceptable “pretending” and lying to cover up a bad deed or get someone in trouble. Otherwise I’m not going to have a leg to stand on when he finds out about the whole Santa Claus thing.