While You Were Sleeping...

One of the things about parenting is that you always have to be on your toes. You never know what the little rascals are getting up to when your back is turned, let alone when you're asleep and they're not.

Take, for example, this recent article on yahoo news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090522/ap_on_fe_st/as_odd_new_zealand_big_toy_8


Toddler buys earthmover in online auction

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A New Zealand mom made some online bids on toys before napping. Then her 3-year-old daughter took over and bought a bigger plaything than expected — a huge earth-moving digger for a cool $12,300.
Pipi Quinlan made the winning 20,000 New Zealand dollar ($12,300) bid on the Kobelco digger with a few mouse clicks at the auction site TradeMe while her parents slept, the Rodney Times newspaper reported in northern New Zealand.
"The first I knew about it was when I came down and opened up the computer," said Pipi's mother, Sarah Quinlan.
"I saw an e-mail from TradeMe saying I had won an auction and another e-mail from the seller saying something like `I think you'll love this digger,'" she was quoted as saying in the paper.
Quinlan said she had made auction bids on several toy sets and assumed she had bought a toy digger.
"It wasn't until I went back and reread the e-mails that I saw $20,000 — and got the shock of my life."
She immediately called the auction site and the seller to explain what happened.
TradeMe reimbursed the seller's costs for the auction and the digger was relisted.

Could you imagine the look of shock and dismay on that mom's face, as well as the sheer delight on her child's, had the earthmover actually arrived on her doorstep. Any child would be thrilled! Not to mention that the father in the family would probably be secretly delighted as well... until he saw the bill. It would definitely make little Pipi the most popular kid on the block. The dad could give the neighborhood kids rides and clear cars off the street that are illegally parked, as well as clearing herds of New Zealand sheep that have gone rogue. Then they'd just laugh about little Pipi's purchase in years to come as they forego college for the little one because all their funds were used up on the earthmover.

Lucky for me, I never had a computer when Vladimir was little, let alone the internet or any such high falutin' technical gadgets. (This is one instance in which being consistently 20 years behind the times comes in handy.) When Vlad was three, the toys at our house were wooden trains, railroad spikes & sledge hammers. He had everything a child could possibly want, so I doubt Vlad would have bid on an earthmover. Or would he?

However, I digress. Getting back to my original caution about falling asleep while your child is awake...

I fell victim to that once. I had decided a little afternoon nap would be just lovely. Vladimir's dad was at work and since Vlad was about 6, I figured he could take care of himself. You know... learn how to use the power tools in the basement, deep fat fry himself something for lunch, steal my car keys & practice driving the family car. The usual for 6-year-olds. However, imagine my surprise when I awoke from my nap.... handcuffed to the bedpost!

Yes, Vladimir had developed an interest in locks and handcuffs. His grandfather had given him a pair of regulation police handcuffs and he was bound and determined to lock up everything in sight... including me. He actually stood over me, patiently waiting for the moment I would wake up and notice I was incarcerated in my own bed.

Luckily, Vlad is an agreeable sort of child and didn't hesitate to unlock me as soon as I woke up. From that point on, however, we always made sure that we carried handcuff keys on us at all times. And we made a firm rule that people had to be awake and conscious before they could be handcuffed.

A responsible parent always sets boundaries for their child!