Daniel and "The Punch"

Now that Noah is getting ready to start daycare, I have been thinking he needs to be prepared to protect himself against bullies or if there aren't any bullies there, he may want to take that role up himself.  Every daycare needs a bully you know.  There are some roles parents are great at teaching, but I have to say I don't think Lisa or Karl are good role models for bullying, they are just too nice.  So while thinking about this subject my mind went back to little Daniel and how he used to protect himself or avenge wrongs to himself such as us turning off the cartoons, taking away his Calvin and Hobbs book when he got too sassy, or denying him his third baloney sandwich. In these and other cases of extreme mistreatment Daniel developed what I would call "The Punch".  The first part of "The Punch" is the indignant rage, and little Daniel had this down pat.  Red face, angry arguing, unwilling to listen to reason- this would all precede "The Punch" so everyone in the room had fair warning before it would happen and could wisely give in to whatever little Daniel wanted to avoid being hit with "The Punch".  Before I describe "The Punch" I need to make a disclaimer- I did not teach it to him, in fact I don't think any of us did, I think Daniel developed this offensive weapon by watching cartoons, probably Popeye with his classic "Windup Punch" gave him great inspiration and I would not discount an angry, out of control Woody Woodpecker from influencing him either.  So "The Punch" for those of you fortunate enough to not have endured it or who did and have blocked the trauma from your mind to survive- I will now explain what it is.  As already stated, first the outrage would build up in little Daniel to something akin to a little human volcano, then because he was such a fair fellow he would warn us we were about the receive severe punishment, this was our last chance to give in to the little guy and save ourselves,  I don't think we ever gave in, but there was always that option.  Next came "The Punch" which was quite dramatic in appearance, Daniel  would start backing away while getting his fist outstretched and ready to do great damage.  He would continue to back up to the furthest corner of the house, so if you were sitting on the living room couch he would probably back all the way up to the far corner of the bathroom.  Once there he would take off in a tear with his fist protruding out like a sled hammer mounted on the front of a speeding freight train.  When this train started down the tracks there was nothing you could do but just sit there and await your punishment.  You could hear the rumble of his feet before you could see the enraged avenger charging at you with protruding fist, red faced, and ready to knock you into the next decade.  Now in actuality the impact was not as great as Daniel's toddler mind imagined, perhaps we would feign hurt in order to keep him from repeating the process while trying to subdue a laugh.  At any rate "The Punch" made a great visual impression and probably to a fellow toddler would have been pretty impactful.  So my suggestion to Daniel and Lisa is that this Christmas during the time to celebrate peace on earth and good tidings to all men Daniel take some one on one time to try to teach Noah "The Punch" just in time for the Holidays.  Noah can practice it on Lisa and Karl for lots of  reasons this season- unwanted naps, healthy foods at dinner time, or lame Christmas presents.  That way he will be in fine form when the new year starts and he heads to daycare.  To make sure "The Punch" has all the impact it can I think Daniel needs to do a little weight training with Noah too, Noah is not heavy enough to pack a big punch yet.  I think Daniel could teach Noah how to open the frig and make sure it is stocked with plenty of baloney for between meal snacks just like Daniel used to have.  It's a beautiful thing when families come together and we learn from each other.