I let Jake watch Super Why the other day, which is a cartoon about super hero readers, and I could hear something about a present but I wasn’t really paying attention. Later that night in his crib he was really whining about how he wanted a present and wasn’t satisfied with the fact that presents are special, we only get them once in a while, blah blah blah.

Here I was thinking oh no my son is already getting greedy, what did I let him watch and feeling the usual parental guilt. Then, a few days later we watched the same episode and it turns out it was about a little girl that wanted to find a present for her grandmother. She couldn’t find anything appropriate to give her grandmother since her roller skates or sock puppets just wouldn’t do. She explained to her grandmother that she searched and searched but couldn’t find anything to give her grandmother. Grandmother then replied that the best present she could get was love and they had a big hug.

I was very relieved that Jake was talking about love and not an actual, physical present. So now when he says mommy I want a present, he gets a big hug!

Phew, he’s still too little to be overcome with greed!