Serve and Protect

Ever get the impression that you have somehow given your children the wrong idea about something? Or they got an idea into their little heads and won't listen to reality?

Tonight, upon arriving home, I had to hop out of the car to move Chase's bike out of my way in order to park in the garage. As I was doing this, she unbuckled herself. Came out my door. But first she decided to lock the door. And so she locked her sister, buckled into her car seat, in a running car. We do not have a spare set of keys. Haven't for years. Mommy was more than a little livid. [But amazingly didn't raise my voice. And believe me I wanted to.]

I went inside to get the phone and look up the non-emergency police number. I told Chase that I needed to call them to rescue Ellis from the car because we don't have a spare key. Chase started shrieking, crying, and yelling at me.

"Don't call them. I won't ever do it again. I don't want to go to jail. They will put me away FOREVER!"

I tried to explain that they were not going to arrest anyone. That I wanted them to come and HELP us.

She did not believe me for a second.

I went to the driveway to wait with Ellis. She was hysterical and MAD. She didn't understand why no one was unbuckling her from her car seat and letting her out. She was yelling at me to OPEN THE DOOR. I asked her if she could do Houdini Baby [she has a talent for getting out of her car seat. She sucks her tiny belly in, contorts her shoulders and can wiggle up and out. I have spent MONTHS getting her to NOT do this maneuver. I am sure that she was utterly confused at my telling her to do this.] She managed to wiggle her arms out the top, but her hips were tight in the car seat. She leaned forward and was able to lean forward and press the button to roll down the window [thank goodness the window lock was not on-- since it often is.] I was able to get my arm in to the opening and unlock the door.

I called the police to let them know that I got her out of the car and that everything was okay. It was a good thing they didn't show up. They would have seen Chase banging on the upstairs bedroom window wailing and yelling "Don't take me to Jail. I promise to be a good girl." and I fear that this might make them question what I was telling my daughter.

I guess we need to do a little more time on "Serve and Protect."

[Although I hope we also learned the lesson that it is not a game to lock the doors on the car... something that she thinks is funny if she is in the car... she didn't think it all the way through to what would happen if no one was in the car to unlock it... ]

Sigh.