Cows!

Andy's been sliding open the back door, and no amount of time-outs has kept him away from it.   I know I need to get a stick thing to keep it wedged shut, and it's on my growing list of things I have to buy from Home Depot, which I believe I began in February of 2011.  If anyone's making a Home Depot run, let me know, because I just can't seem to get there myself.  Anyway, finally today, I decided to explain to him the consequences of opening the back door, other than "You'd be able to walk out of the house and play all by yourself in the back yard and probably have the best time of your life."  I said, "Andy, if you keep opening the back door, you might let an animal in, and the animal might not be nice, and it'll be a huge problem."  I don't know why I said this, but it was the story that came to mind, and I went with it.  I stuck Andy in a time out after explaining the animal thing and relocking the sliding door.  After the time out, I asked Andy if he remembered why he's not allowed to open the door by himself.

Andy, in Andy fashion, which is to nod thoughtfully as he spits out his carefully crafted sentences, said, "Animal come in.  Cow come in.  Cow bite me.  Hurt!"

That's right.  I have Andy now believing that if he screws around with the back door, a cow's going to charge its way in and bite him.  I think I may have messed with his mind by introducing the whole idea of wild animals- now poor Andy's living in fear of the traveling, biting cows of Volo.  But, hey, if that keeps him from the back door, then that's the story we're going with it.  Yet another example of excellent parenting!