As a dad and a husband you constantly expected to know how to fix things. Being an Engineer by profession sure helps. Rachel already knows that if something is broken or when something breaks that Dad can fix it. So knowing that, if I tell her “Rachel, Papa will fix it”, sure enough, she knows that holds true and she will usually respond with “Okay Papa.” and wait until I fix the toy or the item that is broken.
New Toy (Another baby doll)
Today, Rachel was at her cousin’s house who is 5 years old. And like a typical 3-5 year old they always have a problem of sharing. This time around it was over a baby doll that came with a pacifier. When my wife, Ani, came to pick up Rachel, she asked my wife if she could take that baby home. Immediately my wife responded with a no and promised her one if she’ll be good then she’ll buy one for her. Later, that night we ended up going to the store and bought that baby doll
I don’t know how other kids are but Rachel can be very particular about things like this. We opened the baby and she started to play with it. And within minutes she started complaining to the point of almost crying while we were on our way home. Her frustration was that she couldn’t give the baby the pacifier. My wife tried to show her how to do it but after failed attempts, she still gave up. At that point, I knew I had to try it. When I first tried it I noticed that the pacifier, when it is attached to the mouth, slides down underneath the bottom lip. This was happening because the magnet inside the head was poorly positioned, resulting in bad alignment with the pacifier. To calm her down I promised Rachel that I’ll fix it.
The Surgery
When we got home I started playing with it and saw that the only way to fix it is “brain surgery”. I told my wife about it and she didn’t think it was a good idea. “What if you ruin and then it’s 10 bucks wasted,” she claimed. However, I decided to take the challenge and off I went.
I made a big enough incision with an x-acto knife to where I can fit two of my fingers and needle nose pliers. Once she was open, I used the knife and the pliers to remove the rubber seal that was holding the magnet in place. It was somewhat of a pain but after a short while, I separated the magnet from the head. I played with the magnet and the pacifier to find a proper location for the magnet and used a hot glue gun to place the magnet in place. After that, it was time to stitch her up. I heated up my soldering iron and went around the edges to melt off the plastic a little bit. After lining up the seams I went over with the soldering iron again over the top. To top it all off I smeared some hot glue on the top of the seam just for ensure it isn’t coming apart. During the whole process, my daughter didn’t leave my sight watching me tear her baby apart. She kept on saying “Papa you fix baby head, and then baby’s “soska” (means pacifier in Russian).” I kept reassuring her that her baby was fine.
I let the baby “heal” by sticking it in the fridge for like a couple of minutes and then slipped on the hat. The repair was a success. I gave Rachel her baby and showed her how to give the pacifier again. Rachel was ecstatic to see her baby live and well again. She quickly started putting her to sleep. Shortly after she requested assistance in putting a diaper on the baby.
Conclusion
It’s funny how it’s the simplest things that will make our kids happy. It’s also the simplest things that frustrate them as well. Of course, certain things can’t always be fixed but for those that can take the time and reinforce the idea that things can be repaired instead of thrown out and bought new. This is when you need to explain to your child that they need to protect their toys by taking good care of them. If they brake them on purpose then mommy and daddy can’t just keep buying it again. My recommendation is get the doll with more of a realistic pacifier then one you can actually stick in their mouth.
Have you ever had to fix something for your kids. Comment below, I would love to hear your story.