Daycare child proves she’s a real doll

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2020 (2005 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before the pandemic hit, when life used to be normal, my daughter went to daycare all day, her sisters went to school, and her dad and I went to work.

It’s funny how I look at that as normal, because that kind of lifestyle seems so far away now.

Anyway, before COVID-19 I would frantically rush around the house to get ready for the day. The clock felt like a time bomb, inching closer and closer to the school bell.

Our goals as a family were modest. I didn’t care if we were early, I just didn’t want to be late.

While my mornings felt like complete chaos, my daughter’s experience was a lot different. She often didn’t complete a task until she was asked at least 27 times.

Eat your breakfast.

Get dressed.

Put your shoes on.

Grab your backpack.

I ran around like a maniac and she would leisurely fill her backpack with toys and random things to bring with her to daycare. She was meticulous at stuffing random items into her backpack, and fought back if I tried to stop her. It drove me crazy.

One day she brought a couple of her L.O.L. Surprise! dolls with her — If you don’t know what L.O.L. Surprise! dolls are, they are all the rage for young kids. They’re probably more popular with kids who watch those YouTube unboxing videos, because the whole point of these dolls is that you unwrap like seven layers of hard plastic wrapper to get to this little doll and its accessories, which are also each wrapped in plastic, in this small hard plastic ball.

Every time my daughter gets one, a part of me dies a little inside for the environment.

As I was saying, that day my kid brought two of her dolls to daycare. I tried to get her to leave them in the van, but that wasn’t a fight that I had time for that morning. I’ve learned that I need to pick my battles with this spirited child of mine, especially when I am running late to work. She brought these dolls inside and left them in her locker, which is in the hallway of an elementary school.

That evening when I picked her up, the dolls were missing.

I was frustrated. With her, with myself, and with whoever took them. There goes forty bucks, I thought. At the same time, I figured this could be a teachable moment. This is why we don’t bring toys to school. Got it?

I don’t remember how much longer life went on as normal before the pandemic hit and we all became locked down. I think it was fairly soon after the dolls went missing, but I can’t quite recall.

Either way, we forgot about the missing L.O.L. Surprise! dolls.

Flash forward to six months later. On the second day of school and daycare for my now five-year-old. My partner and I went to pick our daughter up and as her daycare provider walked her outside she said, “Your daughter got a note from so-and-so today. She gave back some toys that she took from her.”

“Oh…”

I was confused. I had no idea what she was even talking about.

When we got home, I rummaged through my daughter’s backpack as I always do at the end of the day and I found a small brown paper bag with her name on it. Inside the bag was a note, scrawled in a child’s printing and decorated with a coloured rainbow, a sun, and clouds.

It also had two little L.O.L. Surprise! dolls taped to it.

“To Riel,

I am sorry I took your toys.

It was wrong and has been bothering me.

I have been worrying about and fixing other problems and this is the last. If you can forgive me thank you.

From, kid’s name.”

My daughter told me that the other kid had given her this note during the day. She said the other child read it to her (because my kid can’t read) and asked my daughter to forgive her.

“I’m not mad,” she told me. “I forgive her.”

My little girl was thrilled to have her dolls back and she was grateful for the apology.

I don’t know how old the other kid is who took my daughter’s dolls a few months ago. Based on her printing and her interest in these dolls I imagine that she can’t be much older than my daughter. But, it doesn’t matter. This kid did something wrong, she realized it whether it was on her own or with the help of her parents and then she owned it, and did her best to make it right. My child accepted her apology and forgave her.

This was indeed a teachable moment, not just for the kids but for me, too.

I have cowered away a number of times throughout my life from apologizing to people because I was scared, or for forgiving people because I was mad.

Whoever you are kid, just know that you are a good kid, and that you have nothing to feel bad about. We all make mistakes, though we aren’t all brave enough to own them. (Me included, maybe me especially.) Thanks for the note, and thanks for returning the dolls.

If you’re reading this and happen to be this kid’s mom or dad, just know that you are doing a really good job and you have a really good kid. She taught us both a really good lesson.

@ShelleyACook

shelka79@hotmail.com