One of the low-key best parts of my job is selecting tchotchkes and crap to go into our prize boxes at work. If you’ve ever stepped foot inside a pediatric dentist’s office, you know exactly the sort of junk I’m talking about — small, poorly painted, 75% slime and bouncy balls. Well last year I ran across something on the site we order from that…well, I just had to get for our learning center:
I ordered a variety of poop-themed finger puppets, the best of which, pictured above, is called “Mr. Big Stuff” and is almost certainly not what Jean Knight had in mind on her 1975 funk track. Not sure you can really see his face from this angle, but the poop character is straining pretty hard. Also, yes, the yellow bits are corn.
So naturally I had to bring one of these things home for Miles. And, as a true testament to just how much a child can value a piece of garbage over a $50 playset, not only has it become one of his favorite knickknacks, but he’s built an entire mythology around the character that he has dubbed “Poo-Poo Man.”
Since introducing him to our home, Poo-Poo Man has starred in bedtime stories with the PJ Masks and PAW Patrol, developed a pretty detailed origin story (He’s sort of…summoned. Like a genie. Let’s leave it at that.), and Miles has even asked multiple times if we can meet Poo-Poo Man. I’ve had to tell him no, of course, and I think (or hope?) that he understands.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 