The Toy Fairy

The August issue of Parents Magazine has an article titled: The Pick-Up Fairy-I couldn't get my kid to clean up his toys. So I invented someone who could. I must admit that after reading it I thought to myself, "Taylor does an okay job of cleaning up, usually takes some coaxing, but eventually it gets done, I don't think I need to invent a fairy to make him do it". Well boy was I wrong! A little experimenting goes a long, long way. Since the article was fresh on my mind and my 2yr old had just decided to throw his coins from his piggy-bank behind the T.V, all over the floor, and a handful down the back of my shorts (cold, shocking, and unexpected) all while I was on the phone, I decided it was time for an intervention.

After my phone conversation was over and I looked out at the living room I once had, I decided to tell Taylor about a little "Toy Fairy" that comes and takes your toys if you don't put them away. I said, "if you don't put your toys away when you're done playing with them she'll come and take them to children that do want to play with them". To my complete amazement Taylor was wide-eyed and attentive. Could this article really work in making my child clean-up? Taylor's face got real sad looking and he knew I was saying something new and wanted to hear me say it again. He listened again and then started picking-up every coin that he had tossed on the floor. The lady in the article's child was 3 1/2 when she finally came up with it, so her child wanted to know all kinds of questions about the "pick-up fairy" like what she wore, what she looked like, where she lived... I think at Taylor's age it's still all about "my toys she better not come and take my toys" with a dash of budding imagination and curiosity that got him hooked.

It's been about a week with our new "toy fairy" in existence and I must complement the author Rebeeca Barry for sharing her story. It works every time like a charm! Just the other day, Taylor and I were out on a walk (just down the block) in his mini-golfcart when sure enough he said he wanted to go back home and wanted ME to drive the golfcart home (which is actually physically impossible). I reminded him that HE wanted to take the golfcart out and that HE needed to drive it back to the house. As he turned to walk away, ignoring my request, I said the Toy Fairy might want a golfcart too! Taylor stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment and then returned to drive it back to the garage. The whole time he kept saying, "but I like my golfcart, I don't want her to have it". If the novelty starts to wear off soon don't think I won't break out some fairy dust and a wand to draw him back in:) They're never to young to teach them the importance of cleaning up!