Monsters in the toaster oven

yes, our battle this week....Monsters in the toaster oven

I have just noticed that my little girl has not walked through the kitchen in several days now. She breifly mentioned something over the weekend about not wanting to go into the kitchen and i brushed it off.
Today i realized that she actually has been refusing to walk into the kitchen for any reason.
Of course being the over-bearing mother that i am.....i pushed the issue.
I tried wagering with her, begging her, and even tried tricking her. NOPE she was not going to do it. So i forced her to (bad mommy) she even cried a little. Now i know what you must be thinking "harsh,mean, how could she"
OK, yeah, i felt bad doing it! especially when i could see the fear in her face, when she admited to me what she was afraid of.

There are monsters in the toaster oven, mommy.
I laughed, and that didnt help. I could see that she lost trust in me for that brief second. How could i not believe her? afterall, she was honestly afraid.
Ok guys, i watch obsessed. For the most part, i am one bad experience away from having my own severe OCD problem.
its called EXPOSURE THERAPY. I took her by the hand, walked her slowly into the kitchen, opened the toaster oven, took everything out of it and even stuck my head into it. (it is a pretty large oven) Then i had her look inside. INSTANTLY i could see that she was cured. We then talked about it and i knew, she was no longer scared.
Someone recently told me the best thing that i could do is talk to my kids as if they were adults. Not to sugar coat anything, or try to protect them by not telling the truth about something. With discretion, and within reason i have been, and its working. (im not going to ruin santa or the easter bunny and tooth fairy anytime soon)

till next time............

love your babies, like you imagined you would..... before you knew sleepless nights and temper tantrums.