Why is Daddy the fun one and Mummy is the party-pooper?

Ethan & Isabel with the fun Daddy

About two months ago, my kids and I started a new game that we played in the car. It began when I tried asking them the chicken question (why did the chicken cross the road?). They didn't get the idea that it was supposed to be a funny riddle. Instead, they continued the game by asking silly random questions such as "Why did the mouse eat the moon?", "Why did the uncle wanted to buy inside the shop?", "Why did it rain this afternoon?" and so on.

During our recent trip outstation, Ethan started the game again and everyone took turns to ask questions and giving silly answers.

Suddenly, questions such as "Why is Mummy always such a party-pooper?" came up. It was funny at first until the next question was "Why is Mummy so fierce?" followed by "Why is Mummy always so angry?", "Why is Mummy always scolding and nagging?" and "Why is Daddy the fun one?"
Suddenly, it did not seem like such a fun game anymore even though Daddy and the kids were giving silly answers and laughing all the way.

I gave Daddy THE LOOK that warned him to stop as I did not find it amusing anymore. I am not amused at all that they thought that Daddy is the fun one while I am the party-pooper.

Well, for the record, here's why Daddy is Mr Oh-So-Fun and Mummy is the Ms Party-Pooper:

Reason 1:
The kids' idea of fun was having Daddy speed through humps and accelerate up slopes and drift at  corners - in my car! And Mummy spoiled their fun by telling Daddy to stop. That was the answer they gave! Sure, the humps were accidental as Daddy was always not concentrating on the road but the slopes and corners were done on purpose. Of course I would ask Daddy to stop it. What if there was an accident? Let's see if Daddy would still be so much fun if we were driving his car.

Reason 2:
Daddy did not have many toys when he was a kid. He only had broken hand-me-downs from his brothers. So he is trying to compensate his lack of toys-filled childhood by buying expensive toys for his kids now. He bought an Optimus Prime that cost around RM250 for Ethan. I told him that Ethan doesn't need such a sophisticated Transformer and he replied that he did not have any Transformer when he was a kid and he wants one now, even though it was supposed to be for Ethan. And Daddy definitely has no qualms about spending more than a hundred ringgit each for Ethan & Isabel's toys on a monthly basis. Well, of course the kids would think that Daddy is the best in the world!

Reason 3:
On weekdays, Daddy only reaches back home after the kids are asleep. So he missed out on the fights in the car, the fights at home and all the dramas and tantrums. He missed out of having to nag at the kids to get ready for bed. And because he wakes up late, he also missed out of having to rush the kids to wake up and get ready for school. I am always the one who has to repeat myself 10 times before anyone gets their ass off the bed. So of course, the kids think that I am the strict disciplinarian  while Daddy is the cool one.

Reason 4:
When we get back home in the evening on weekdays, I am usually too busy to play with the kids. If I do, there will be no clean clothes for anyone to wear, no clean plates for anyone to eat from, Ethan will not have anyone to go through his homework with and everything will be in utter mess and chaos. I only get to spend time with them when we are all snuggled up on bed to read bedtime stories. Then I will sing to them and say a prayer with them. So we don't really get to play together much.  When we get back home from church on Sunday afternoons, I will usually plop onto the bed and get some much-needed rest while Daddy has to stay up and play with the kids. So, again, it makes Daddy the fun one as he gets to play with the kids while I am always busy with housework or taking a nap.

But then, at the end of the day, I know that even though I am not known as the fun one, my kids still love me. They still ask for me to comfort them when they are upset (they never asked for Daddy) and they still ask for me to sleep together with them at night (they never asked for Daddy to do this either). And they still prefer for me to be the one to send them to school and pick them up from the babysitter. And they still want to follow me wherever I go. I am still the most important person in their lives.... for now.