As an English teacher and writer (yes, they’re sometimes mutually exclusive), parents frequently ask me how they can get their children to write outside of school.

I now have a new answer.

Threaten to take them to the dentist.

That’s what Joy Bennett did.

And this is how her five-year-old (S.) responded.

"No dentist no no no"

The primary purpose of writing is to communicate.

The most important tenet of writing is clarity.

I’d say S. nailed them both.

And I’m with him. I went to the dentist this morning. And in six months, I will echo S and say: no dentist no no no.

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Joy Bennett blogs at Joy In This Journey and is a contributing writer at Deeper Story.

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Any dentist stories out there?

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Has your child, niece, or nephew done any comedic writing? If so, consider sending it to us at stuffkidswrite(at)gmail(dot)com.