I PLAYED ADVERTISING WITH MY 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND SHE HATED IT

I gave her a beautiful box of crayons and told her to draw something for me.

She said what?

I told her to draw something that makes everybody go wow.

As she started drawing I took a bunch of crayons away from her.

She stopped drawing.

She said she was missing some of the crayons she wanted to use.

I told her to make the best of the crayons she had left.

She looked at me.

She looked at the paper.

She went back to drawing. 

I left her room for a few minutes. 

When I came back, I pointed at her drawing.

I asked her to change something in it.

She asked me why, what, how?

I ripped a piece of paper and scribbled on it.

She said what is this?

I told her this is just an example. You are the creative.

She threw a quick tantrum.

Then she wiped off her tears and got back to drawing.

Half an hour went by before she came to me with the final piece.

She looked proud. 

I told her I liked it.

She looked prouder.

Then I told her I was missing something.

She told me she didn’t understand.

I told her wait here.

I took her drawing and showed it to our neighbor Denise and her husband Zat, to a middle-aged man up running up the stairs of our building with two grocery bags and the mail guy who always shows up at noon.

Everyone had something to say about the drawing.

I listened to them and made the changes they suggested.

At this point she was waiting for me, sitting on the floor in her room with her arms crossed and her chin tucked inside her knees. 

When I finally walked in her room, I held up the drawing in front of her.

I told her this is good. I’m proud of you. Well done.

She looked at me.

I looked at her.

She told me she didn’t want to play advertising anymore.

I asked her no more?

She told me never again.

Thanks for reading. I, too, did it my way.