Toothbrushes

The kids each got a new toothbrush in their stockings at Christmas. They are the kind that play a little music while the kids brush. One got a red and orange Lion King toothbrush and the other got a yellow one that plays a "If you're happy and you know it, brush your teeth" diddy. I don't even remember who got which one. But apparently, for whatever reason, the red one has become the popular one. They both wanted to use it everyday. We tried taking turns but it was hard to remember who had it last, and asking them was extremely unreliable (they each have a memory biased in their own favor.)

Enter the easiest solution: the luck of the draw. At night time, I started holding both toothbrushes behind my back, and letting them pick a hand. At first, if they didn't get the red one, a fit ensued. Admiringly, both have learned to be happy, even if they get the yellow one. A quick look of dread is quickly replaced by a "Yea!", even if we all know it's insincere. We've since altered the process slightly, because we couldn't remember who picked first last time. Now we flip a coin to decide who gets to pick the hand behind the back. Gabe runs and finds a quarter every time.

Now we're just waiting for them to be repulsed by the idea of sharing toothbrushes or for the next set of toothbrushes to be identical.