(My eight-year-old cousin got her ears pierced two months ago. She recently had an incident when her mother, my aunt, thought that they could take the earrings out, when in fact they were supposed to wait another month. My cousin’s ear started to bleed, so they went back to the piercing studio where they were told she would have to wait another three months before taking the earrings out. I’m trying to cheer up my cousin.)
Cousin: “I wish I could take out my earrings sooner instead of waiting three more months! It’s all Mummy’s fault.”
Me: “Look at it this way. You’ll have your earrings out by Christmas!”
Cousin: “But that’s in such a long time. I wish Mummy hadn’t done this.”
Me: “Think about it in terms of what Santa might bring…” *meaning new earrings*
Cousin: “Like what? A new mother who doesn’t make mistakes?”