As those who have read Card's Lost Boys may remember, there are several parental concepts used by the main characters Step & DeAnne. As the book was highly autobiographical, those were really used by Scott and Kristine -- at least some of them. One of those is "the funny-once lecture," referenced in the first chapter. The idea is to protect parental sanity by teaching the child not to tell the same joke over and over and over and over....
Well, I've been trying to teach this one to Mooselet. OSC and I traded e-mails a few times last week, and he stated in one that this was one of the most important rules for the sake of the parents. (I tried explaining to Mooselet that I was the national funny-decider, too, but that one didn't really make sense to him.)
Last night we had a little experience that I thought was humorous, and thought Scott might appreciate it in light of our correspondence. Rather than explain again in different words what happened, I'm just including the text of my e-mail to OSC (and Kristine).
quote:Subject: Well, apparently I'm gonna have to be more clear ---------------- So as I mentioned earlier, I've been teaching Mooselet the "once funny" rule, right? He's kinda getting it, but kinda not.
Last night he was "going peepee on the potty" after his bath. As usual, he's not entirely focused on the task at hand and is moving around a bit, and, well, there's a point he was leaning back pretty far, and if he were to have right then, daddy rather than the potty would have been the recipient. He points this out and says, "I will go peepee on you. Will that be funny?"
"No, bud, I don't think that would be very funny."
"Yes. It will be funny once."
Mama and I both cracked up at that. I had explained that it was jokes that were funny at most once, but he has decided both to ignore the "at most" part and to apply it to all forms of humor. *sigh*
Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of it.
--Pop
And his response:
quote:Admit it. Mooselet ABSOLUTELY understands the rule and he was completely correct. Peeing on daddy IS funny. Once.
And yeah, I'm admitting it. He's right. Wouldn't be funny to me, at least not at the time, but it would probably be pretty funny.
posted
Trouble with my kids, if I insist on funny once, is they will throw away all the dixie cups that have duplicate jokes on them.
Something unfortunate- I generally can't hear my son until he's said "Mommy" about 15 times. When my husband's home, it drives him crazy.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
This is the one fear I have about having children with Bob. If their father doesn’t understand the “funny once” concept, what chance do the kids have?
Or, more importantly, what chance does the mother’s sanity have?
posted
I haven't read Lost Boys yet. (Naughty me!) I have never heard of the "Funny Once Lecture".
My first thought was, how can we teach that to our kids? We have inside jokes that *never* get old! It would definitely be a case of "Do what I say, not what I do". Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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pooka-our mother is the same, we can say her name over and over and over and she will not notice us until at least5 to 10 repetitions. Often more. She says she evolved this ability in order to stay sane while being pestered all the time :-p
Posts: 3493 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
*giggle* Pop, that Mooselet is quite a treasure.
*wistful sigh* Oh, the fun to come! We got a First Safety Catalog in the mail today which featured a stuffed animal that would sing "I'm a super pooper" Tom and I both got a kick out of that, and at the same time were very very afraid. Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:bev, you'll enjoy it. But there are sad parts, so be ready for that, too.
At first I didn't see the "bev" at the beginning of this sentence and thought she was talking about potty training. I couldn't figure out what was either enjoyable or sad about it.
Posts: 48 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
"It's the book Sixth Sense was based on!" Is it really, or are you joking? I have not seen Sixth Sense, nor have I read Lost Boys. Yet. When I first saw Lost Boys, I thought, WAY COOL, OSC wrote the book that the movie was based on. (The movie "Lost Boys") But that is wrong...right?
Papa Moose(I just realized that Papa Moose Syndrome would be PMS, but I digress, having had two glasses of wine):
I have always taught my children to say things, even critical things, in a polite and tactful way. When my daughter was three, I served her a piece of homemade Boboli pizza.
A: I don't like this pizza. Me: But you love pizza. Try it. It is great. A: (Silence) Me: I made it myself, but it is the same as other kinds of pizza you like. Try it. A: Mommy: I love you, and I think you are the BESTEST cook. I just don't like this kind of pizza.
Fast forward to age nine, this past winter, riding in the car, with me listening to back-talk like there was no tomorrow.
Me: A, would you talk to your teacher that way? Your grandparents? Pastor Marianne? A: NO! Me: Then why do you talk that way to me? A:(without a single skipped beat) Because I trust you, and I feel comfortable with you, and I know that whatever I do, you will love me anyway. Me:(silent: struck dumb, in both senses of the word)
So, PM, just fast forward and try to project what "funny once" will mean when Mooselet is twelve. Or seventeen. I am going to try very hard NOT to do that, as I know that I am in for it in a big way. That child can politely kick my a** in about a hundred different ways NOW, forget about the teen years. (shudder)
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
*curious* Are there any parents who've found that their kids becoming/being teenagers to be easier than they feared?
Most parents that I know are scared of the idea. (Especially, it seems like moms are daunted by the idea of their daughters becoming teenagers...)
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Hey, if it's funny once, it's funny for a lifetime! Funny once! Harrrumph! Who ever heard of such a thing?
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Trouble with my kids, if I insist on funny once, is they will throw away all the dixie cups that have duplicate jokes on them.![[Monkeys]](graemlins/monkeys.gif)
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