Yes, it is still there! …a plastic, ‘made in Japan’, chalilit (recorder – flute-like -whistle-thing with finger holes) that screeches and yelps when blown by a kid, drowning out any and all parental threats of imminent death IF HE DOESN’T STOP BLOWING THAT STUPID THING!

My 2 kids are 38 and 30, respectively and respectably (because they managed to survive!). LOL

I forget which relative gave that thing to my older son, but I know in my heart I still curse them for it, and probably repaid them by buying THEIR kid a toy drum set. HAH!

My point in this story is that if I outweigh my kid, I AM THE WINNER OF ANY ARGUMENT!!

That being said, the issue of placing stickers on windows, walls, floors or ceilings was a direct challenge to MY authority, more than an effort to dress up his bedroom, although he probably thought it looked pretty while he was doing it!

Dan, the elder, didn’t get away with it too much, as we were younger and cared more about the plaster and paint that we ‘lovingly’ did ourselves in our first house.

Mike, the younger, did much more sticker-decorating in his pine-paneled room, including super-gluing that nickel to the antique night stand. He got away with it easier because we were older and didn’t care as much about it by then.

However… when it came time to sell our home of 25 years in MA to move to FL 6½ years ago, the task of ancient sticker removal became a necessity. The glow-stickers on the ceiling were the trickiest, as the ceiling tiles didn’t hold up to scraping or soaking with any solutions. Tiles had to be replaced. The walls were easier because the 1/2″-thick pine paneling was coated with polyurethane, so light scraping after soaking with ‘Orange Glow’ polish worked well. The nickel got scraped off the nightstand (which still shows the scars of the removal but will be refinished the day after HELL freezes over), and the linoleum floor tiles gave up the stickers and crayon drawings with more Orange Glow and WD-40.

Bottom line, …and this is a ‘Grampa’ talkin’ now; it’s just stickers! BIG DEAL! Kind’a like back in the ’60’s when we started growing hair (like the Beatles) and yer ol’ man bitched at you about being a shaggy slob, GET IT CUT, N-O-W ! WHO DID IT HURT?? …fogedaboudit!

Michael, I have absolutely no experience raising girls (thank G – D!), so your reply to ‘Mary’ (if that’s her real name) about the sticker books is probably a good one. And your reply to ‘Jody’ hits closer to home.