Keira has an unusual technique when it comes to singing nursery rhymes to Riley.

This involves getting right into his face, I mean centimetres away, and shouting at the top of her lungs: “Baa Baa Black Sheep….etc.etc”.

Depending on his mood, Riley will react in one of two ways:

1) If he’s feeling ‘punchy’, he’ll bat Keira away with his hands in a “piss off, why doncha?” way.

2) If he’s feeling ‘vulnerable’, his face will usually drop, the lip will quiver, and he’ll look to me for help.

I don’t blame him either. When Keira gets loud she can be quite frightening.

For an adult equivalent, I can only think of Hannibal Lecter saying, “Hello, Clarice. Would you like me to sing you a song about lambs? I know how much you love those woolly, playful….lambies.”

Oh, yeah. Scary stuff.

karen andrews

Karen Andrews is the creator of this website, one of the most established and well-respected parenting blogs in the country. She is also an author, award-winning writer, poet, editor and publisher at Miscellaneous Press. Her latest book is Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity