Fear Tactics

Loli has had a mysterious fever these past several days. It actually gets quite high, about 104 sometimes. The odd thing is, she has NO SYMPTOMS. Literally, NONE. She's just as bouncy and lively all day and her fever is about 101. At night it spikes to around 103-104 and then she starts acting tired and sluggish. None of my other kids have anything! I give her tylenol at night, and I've been doing cranberry pills because it seems to me it must be bacterial, somehow. If she still has it tonight, I'm planning on taking her to the doc tommorrow to see what's up. And perhaps cancel some plans (though I hope that doesn't happen... we have a full, fun weekend planned.)

So Loli's problem is she hates drinking water. She gets dehydrated really fast, though, especially when she's sick. So I've been pushing the emergen-c and water the last couple days. Last night I got a little frustrated.

Me: Loli, if you don't drink water when you're sick you could die.

Loli: (Looks at me suspiciously) No you can't.

Me: Yes, you could.

Loli: Mom, you can NOT die from not drinking water!

Me: It happens all the time.

Loli: Oh. (Thinking over the possibilities.)

Me: But before that happened with you we'd probably take you to a hospital, where they'd stick a needle in your arm and give you water THAT way. So you probably wouldn't die after all.

Loli: (Eyes completely round) Oh.


Next morning...

Loli: Mom, I drank a LOT of water last night.

Me: Good.

Bella: Mom, is Loli Die?

Me: No, she won't die.

Bella: (snickering) Loli Die, no water?

Loli: It's not funny!!!



And that's how you do it, ladies and gentlemen. As my mother before me, I have learned to utilize the tactic of scaring my children completely into submission.