The jungle in the car Fulfil their wishes at least in their imagination

You would probably also be on the verge of going crazy. We were taking out the groceries out of the car with grandma and Kryštof was listening to Disney’s Jungle Book. We have a rule that we let the song finish playing and then we get out. But this time there was a loud noise of a Tiger and Orang-utan roaring together when I was turning off the CD. Complete protest! It came unexpected, unplanned, suddenly, without any warning or any grievance. An additional statement followed, “I’m staying in the car!”, which in our case means on the road in front of the house.

So grandma is waiting at the elevator with the shopping bags and Kryštof refuses to move from the car, even when he is reminded of the rules and explained the situation. And with any mild pressure, the sound of the jungle is audible. Normally, there would be no other choice than to take him kicking and screaming into the house. I remembered however the advice from the book Respect and be respected[1] : “Fulfil their dreams at least in their imagination“.

So I started: “If it was possible, I would listen to the CD with you all day, all day and night. We would sit in the car at night, we would be afraid a little and we would watch the moon and stars.” Well and since our kids love this fantasizing, Kryštof joined in: “And we would also hunt prey at night. Pšššš, mommy, something’s shaking here….” And there was peace. The jungle got silence and the family atmosphere returned to normal, including what needed to be done—going into the house.

*Respektovat a být respektován, P. Kopřiva, J. Nováčková, D.Nevolová, T. Kopřivová, Spirála, 2008

Author: Lenka Míkovcová

Translation: Marek Hubbell