Friday, 9 April 2010

Setting a Precedent

You know when the ice-cream van drives past your house with its mechanical tune blaring and it suddenly feels like summer? In my house the tune is accompanied by hysterical pleading and harrassment from my children begging for ice-cream before the van goes away.

There are two issues with this, I have become so used to using my bank card everywhere, that I often find myself without cash. The other is that if you cover, you can't just run down the road as you are (and the van always parks aaalll the way down the road). So as I grab my shoes, pashmina and purse the kids are going crazy because they think the van is about to go.

Usually I just say no and filter out the haranguing (my sister can't believe I can tune out all of that noise at will, but that's a whole different post). Today I felt like saying yes. So the kids enjoyed their ice-cream and I got the feeling that the ice-cream van tune was going to be associated with a lot of hounding by the end of this summer.


  1. this is a sore point with me, since my eldest daughter has just hit that age where she asks for everything she sees. i addressed the ice cream man issue by keeping the fridge stocked with ice lollies and ice cream, but there are still times when she whines for it, and i find myself saying no and my only reason is that i just don't feel like giving into her whining.

    i'm thinkin that in the summer i'll make it a special treat associated with a special event like family picnics.

  2. Haha! My nieces and nephews become little demons when the ice cream van's tune is heard outside...I don't know how you Moms do it!