To refuse to kiss 70 animals a day?

[DueyCheatemAndHow]

DS has slowly got into cuddly toys more and more. It got to the point where he had some on his shelf and some in his bed and he wanted me to kiss them goodnight, so I did.

But now he is insisting on having all of them in his bed. There's at least 35 if not 40. And he has a nap as well - so they both need two kisses a day.

Am I being a total bitch to refuse to kiss that many soft toys? He was 3 in September.

Tell him you have magic kisses that he can't see and you've already kissed them a million times tonight already.

Just because he can't see it happening, doesn't mean to say it isn't happening. Then you could pick up one teddy and say "Have you had a magic kiss tonight? already a few thousand?"

Then get the teddy to whisper in your ear for a few seconds and start nodding and say "Yes teddy has said s/he's already received lots of kisses"

I often found playing silly make-believe games - or distraction of some other kind, works.

A plain old NO is hard to stomach at this age! But they are trying at 3 though I do remember. My DS was obsessed, OBSESSED with Henry Hoover and woulnd't leave the house until he'd been allowed a little hoover every day. Drove me crazy. The house was very clean though!

@DueyCheatemAndHow

Thanks *@AlexaShutUp* - does that include the cuddly toy plane that I should have binned the moment he got it?!

Definitely! Wouldn't dream of leaving out the plane!

I like your ds's toy names by the way. Donna the dragon is particularly amusing!

Tell him you will kiss his extra special favourite teddy - if he has one. Dd has probably the same amount, she's obsessed with them. She has a lot on her bed but one extra special one I have to kiss every night...

Or blow one big kiss for all of them.

Reminds me of when I was a kid. When I stayed at my grandma and grandads, I insisted on taking every single teddy bear I owned else I wouldn't go. Drove my mum Potty with it but I'm sure there some deep psychological reason for it at the time, I couldn't go without taking them, I was much older than 3 too - more like 8 or 9.

But no, don't start kissing 40 teddy bears. Just draw the line now if you can, without too much upset!

Surely you say Covid and social distancing??

This is so cute! I’d kiss them… half because I think promoting caring behaviour in boys is important and half to see his happy little face.

I can’t wait for my little boy to start loving his teddies .

Awww - cute OP - now that's a nice problem to have

I guess not everyone thinks it's sweet!! See below:-

You are the parent! Are you going to acquiesce to every demand he makes, because if you do, it will be miserable for you, and make him turn out to be the type of bloke who demands things of women and expects them to be done.Tell him, no. Let him deal with being told no. You don’t have to tell him in a mean way, but you are the parent here, not him. You’ve got to have boundaries.

That's you told !!

OMG, that makes me wish I'd had DC - that is so cute!!

C'mon now OP, pucker up 😘😘😘

Does he kiss them all, too? Introduce him to the idea of group hugs.

I was going to suggest the solution you’ve come up with - Three toys get an actual kiss each night. As other PP have said, these kisses are special magic ones which miraculously and invisibly plonk a kiss on the other 67 toys too.

How about a rota? My son is 11 now and has 76 teddies! Each takes it's turn to be teddy of the day. We tick it off a list stuck to his door and that's the one that goes to bed with him that night. Could you do similar for kisses?

Just tell him there are 5 kisses each nap so pick the ones that need it the most. Its his choice then, providing he doesn't take an age to decide!

YABU Freddie the bull, Alex the penguin and Donna the dragon are getting SPECIAL FAVOURS and it's really not fair.

Blow them air kisses

Awww you’ll smile at this when he’s a big, grunty teenager towering over you

I developed the art of blowing all-encompassing kisses from the bedroom doorway.

@Hedgesfullofbirds

Is that you Elizabeth...I mean Your Majesty?

Brilliant :)

@Cstring

Awww you’ll smile at this when he’s a big, grunty teenager towering over you

@Cstring. You’re so right! My tall grungy teenager has completely forgotten about his cuddly toy collection now, but I remember their careful placement on his bed so he could just squeeze under the covers.🤣. I agree with the air kissing idea, sprinkle them around the room.

Particular favourites get a kiss (I'd probably limit to 3, 5 if I was feeling especially generous!)
The rest get a group hug?

I voted YABU, but only because I liked the idea of you being forced to kiss 40 stuffed animals twice a day based on an internet vote

Tell him that's his job; they're his stuffed animals, not yours. You just get to kiss him goodnight.

My stepdaughter is 11 now, at bedtime I have to brush her hair, name all her teddies (of which theee are loads and whose names sometimes change) and give three of them a proper cuddle. I don't always feel like it tbh, but I feel like I could blink and she won't want it anymore and I'll miss it.

Explain kisses are wasted on them.

Blow them all one big kiss!

@Hedgesfullofbirds

Is that you Elizabeth...I mean Your Majesty?

You're the worst parent there's ever been on mumsnet. Poor unkissed teddies.