What Indiana Jones and television dogs taught this Dad about Parenting

I love the opening sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  When Indy finally gets to the large room where the golden idol is he pulls out a bag of sand, shifts some of it out and then switches it out for the treasure.  It’s a clever trick and an accurate premise.  The treasure is on a pressure sensitive platform that triggers a huge boulder if something heavier or lighter is on it.

Prior to being a stay at home dad I used to do PR for an animal shelter.  As part of my job I would take cats or dogs to local television stations and tell the audience why they needed to adopt this pet.   Dirty little secret:  when I took cats, I always took kittens and when I took dogs I always had bacon in my pocket.

What could that sequence from Raiders and the experience with pets on live television possibly have taught me about parenting?

Indy had a placebo

When your child wants something they shouldn’t have, like the remote control, lamp, smart phone or camera, you need to distract them and fast.  In your diaper bag you’ve probably got a toy or two designed just for emergencies like that.  Granted, it’s not as cool as being in a South American tomb chasing treasure, but that little toy will save your sanity when you’re out.

If you’re home then your distractions are more plentiful, the majority of books and toys are in the other room.  After a couple times you’ll learn not to put the remote control on the sofa where small, toddler hands can get to it.  If you have an extra remote control that you don’t use, leave that around for your toddler, they can push those buttons all day long and never cause any harm.

It’s the same effect that the bacon in my pocket had on the dogs when I went on television.  It did not guarantee that they would behave, but it sure did distract them in a hurry if I saw them getting out of line.

I also had a clicker

A clicker is a fabulous device that makes a loud ‘click’ sound that helps dogs train more easily.  Dogs that haven’t even been through training stop in their tracks when they hear the sound of a clicker.   In addition to the bacon I had a clicker.

When last I checked, there was no clicker equivalent in the parenting world.  For the parent our clicker is knowing what our child’s hot buttons are.  Is it a song they like?  A certain color, funny face or magic word?  By the time they’re a toddler there is something that they love, recognize and will cease most bad behavior when they hear or see it.

For Baby Mojo its ceiling fans and (ironically…) animals.  If he’s having a meltdown then one calming method I use is to immediately ask him “where is the fan” or “where is the cat”.  At a recent visit to the doctor’s office, he had to get five (5!) shots.  By the time shot #2 was being given he was already melting down so I calmly asked him “where’s the cat”.  It stopped him for a second, and then I followed up with the fan query and ended it up with The Wheels on the Bus.  A trifecta of toddler distractions in: 30 that mitigated some of what would’ve otherwise been an ear melting, red faced mess.

Roll with it

You have of course seen the movie and know that the boulder came chasing after Indy.   One time on television I took three kittens and during the course of the segment, two of them scratched my hands, which allowed them the opportunity to crawl up my arm-forcing me to bend over where they clawed my back.

The toddler meltdown happens.  Why is it happening is what you need to figure out.  Is it something they want but can’t have or is it a schedule thing?  Like Indy from the stone temple, get out as quickly as possible, see if that helps calm your little Mojo down.  Maybe they just need a nap.

Is it something that you can avoid happening again?  You can bet I didn’t take three kittens on television again.  You can also bet that we schedule our trips to the store around Baby Mojo’s nap.