Oooops...

Whenever something in our bedroom goes missing, the first person we always turn to for answers is our dear, mischievous daughter Chloe. She loves hiding our things, especially those that matter most, like keys, car keys, expensive pens, and cellphones. :D Good that over the years, we've discovered her hiding places. So we take extra precautions to put these things in places where she won't be able to reach them. But sometimes we slip and she goes on her little game again.

So last Sunday, while I was frantically looking for my house keys, I asked her, "Chloe, where did you put mommy's keys?" And she said, "In (sic) the bed!" I finished turning our bed upside down and still no keys! But it's what she always says when I ask her. So I figured, she must be pretending to hide my keys even if she had nothing to do with the loss. But I still continued asking her, just in case she slips. :)

By late afternoon, I was exasperated. "Chloe! Come on, where did you put mommy's keys?!?!"

And she said, " You cry mommy..."

Thinking she was asking me, I said, "No, mommy's not crying. I just want to find my keys!"

"You cry mommy, and you'll find it!" she said, in a manner like it's a magic thing. You cry, voila, it's there again!

Oooooooops...... this can't be good.

But how can I blame her for thinking it?

I know most adults** mean well when playing with her. But usually, the game goes like this: Chloe quietly sits and plays with something, ignoring the adults** who are desperately trying to get her attention. So what they do is, grab whatever is catching her fancy at that moment, and hide it behind their backs. Of course, Chloe starts whining. But it is only when she starts crying that the adults** give in.

**adults = my dad and my youngest brother (bwahahahaha)

See? So how can you really blame Chloe for thinking that way?

I don't know if she understood me when I explained that that's not how things work. I've started discouraging her from crying to get what she wants since her mischievous revelation. And so far it works. When she starts crying for something, I tell her in a firm voice to stop crying. And when she does, I give her whatever it is she wants, if it's reasonable. If not, I just explain. She usually understands and gets it. Or sometimes, she forgets. It's that easy.

It's the adults** who will be a bit difficult to handle. :D