It wasn’t long after becoming a mother that I decided that the ice cream truck was something to be avoided. But of course, ten years ago my reasoning was different than the motivation of today.
Back then I couldn’t comprehend, (well, I still can’t comprehend this one) how it seemed to be a good idea to have a complete stranger driving through neighborhoods with tantalizing music trying to lure children to his truck with treats. This concept went against the very grain I try to teach my children.
We do not approach strangers.
We do not accept candy or treats from strangers.
We do not walk up to a vehicle of a stranger.
Just yesterday we were driving through a neighborhood and my oldest daughter said with contempt in her voice, “What is that?!?!” Her dad tried to explain that someone had taken their personal black van and put stickers on it, wired speakers to the roof, and was portraying himself as the ice cream truck. Her face expression was all we needed as a cue that she understood that this was not deemed appropriate.
Now of course, he did not have the window on the side of his van, but he left the sliding door open and was leaning out the door taking orders. I couldn’t believe parents were permitting their children to approach this vehicle! Now, I only remember one news story about child abduction and the ice cream truck, but I presume that is one story too many.
The music that permeates from these vehicles turn our children into screaming tyrants demonstrating the Pavlov wasn’t wrong about his theory of conditioning. However, I successfully convinced my first born that this was a music truck bringing us joy to our ears. I also was able to explain to her that it was never okay to approach strangers in this type of vehicle or any vehicle to that matter.
For six beautiful years, each and every summer she would inform me that the music truck was coming through the neighborhood. But, she didn’t go running to my purse, begging me for some unforeseen treat. Instead, we would sit on the couch and hum the familiar tune.
It was her sixth summer when a neighbor kid let the cat out of the bag. She wasn’t mad though, but curiosity did get the best of her… so we begrudgingly went on our first ice cream truck adventure. After a couple of bites, she retorted, “This doesn’t taste very good.”
YES!
She was saved by her own common sense. So we went through the next several years with no interest from the music turned ice cream truck.
That was until this past weekend when the mother next door came running over to our house to get her child. Then she, too, apparently conditioned by the Pavlovian “It’s A Small World After All…” music, went running down the street flagging this truck to stop in front of our house.
My husband just looked at me as I shrugged my shoulders… I decided in order to not look like the hysterical mother of the neighborhood to invite my children to meet the neighbor’s at the foot of our drive way. However, up until this moment my now youngest did not even give a notice to this truck.
After 5 minutes of rude grunts and groans from the woman and man in the back of the van (we were obviously taking too much of their precious time), the kids had decided— I cringed as my older daughter picked the multi-colored rainbow snow cone and her sister pointed to the ice cream sandwich.
Luckily, once the wrapper came of the over-priced ice cream sandwich, she looked at it, scrunched up her nose at the lifeless attempt of food, set it down, and retreated to the freezer to get some rice ice cream.
ANOTHER VICTORY!
But my other daughter ate the whole snow cone.
We decided to serve watermelon a little later, since watermelon is known to naturally contain high amounts of vitamin C and A as well as loads of natural carotenoid antioxidants. Antioxidants enter the body and attack free radicals, allowing the body to be cleansed.
Soon after she consumed the watermelon, she retreated to the back sun deck. I went out to see if she was okay. She looked pale, her eyes had dark circles under them, and she was clammy. I asked how she felt and she said “nauseous”.
I am sure we were seeing the body trying to rid toxic chemical levels from that snow cone that was drenched in artificial colors, dye, high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. Her body isn’t used to that non-food crap and was trying to purge it.
She never threw up, but did go to sleep and woke up feeling better. I suppose we learned that the choices of treats that mom puts in the freezer are much more compatible with the human body. Artificial crap is neither nutritious nor safe for the body!
In the future, we will resort to the freezer filled with the real food that our body’s desire and resist the conditioning of the music filling the summer air.
Lesson Learned.
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