Little Ruff-Ruff

Usually when my kids play pretend games, I just let them go. But sometimes you have to direct a bit. Lee and her friend Annie went through a phase of playing a game called Evil Stepmother, but when Clara, the stepdaughter, ended up crying in the corner after a "beating" with a wand, I put an end to that for good.

Well recently, Clara has been put in the role of a dog called Little Ruff-Ruff. She calls Lee Sister Ruff-Ruff and pretty much does what Lee requests. It reminds me a lot of my sister Deb and me (I ate grass pretending to be a horse as a child).

But when Lee started walking around with Clara on a leash, I wondered whether I should step in. Clara obviously didn't feel it was demeaning, and at least she was on two legs most of the time.

A few days later, though, I walked into the kitchen to find Clara lapping out of a bowl on the floor. Hmm....is that over the line?