Vincent the fibber

We have been having a few early mornings....Vincent has this clock with the sun and the moon on it. We set the sun to come up at a reasonable hour (ie 730am) and the sun comes on when it is this time and Vincent knows he can then can get up. Well... for Matt's birthday night, the two Vs stayed over at Mamina's (Ardha's) house and so the clock got a bit messed up.

On Monday morning Vincent came wandering in at 7am (I said 'Is your sun up Vincent?', he says 'Yes Mummy it is': I go and check and he is right, the sun is up). The next night I check the clock over: it appears all right.

The next morning Vincent is up later than normal so the sun is well and truly up on the clock by the time he gets up.

Wednesday morning and Thursday morning however, he is in our room at SIX am (and of course wakes up Verity at the same time). On both occasions, I ask him if the sun is up, Vincent tells us 'Yes', and then when I check: sure enough the sun is up.I check the clock over Thursday night and ensure the timing is all set right.

On Friday morning when Vincent comes into our room, again at SIX am... I begin to smell a rat. I ask him if the sun has come up... 'Yes Mummy' he says. I go into his room, check carefully, and while the sun is indeed up, a flashing symbol indicates clearly to me that this has been tampered with. 'Vincent..', I ask, 'Have you made the sun come up?', 'No Mummy', he answers.... 'Vincent...' I say again, 'Have you made the sun come up?'... this time he says sheepishly 'I don't know Mummy'....then over time I finally get out of him that he has been making the sun come up and indeed has been fibbing!!

Got to give him points for ingenuity, but it is also the first proper lie he has told us.... oh dear!! Needless to say calm has been restored, Vincent has had the perils (and appropriate punishments)of lying explained to him, and the sun now comes on at a reasonable hour. When I asked if I needed to move the clock up to a high shelf or if he could be trusted not to touch it, Vincent said after some careful thought 'Put it on a high shelf'.... Doesnt bode well for attitudes to drugs and alcohol in later life does it!!!!