Careful What You Say

As the parent of a soon to be 4 year old girl that shows signs of potential superior intelligence (at least she is smarter than me), my wife and I are learning that you really have to be careful what you say around your children. Even though their attention span is slightly longer than a doorknob’s, you really can’t ever tell when they are actually listening to what you say.

Case in point…this weekend my wife was helping my daughter do some painting. As she whipped up yet another colorful montage of spots she asked for a different paint color. My wife, struggling to open the jar, made mention of the difficulty she was having to my daughter. Our innocent little 4-year-old responded by slamming her fist on the table and yelling, “Dammit!” Yea, she did.

Being the parents we are, punishing our kids for something like this is virtually impossible because it is so damn funny. We usually have to leave the room after these incidents so they do not see us laughing hysterically. It is the best we can do to not encourage this behavior.

So, just remember, even though they are constantly in their little world, you never know when they are listening. We were lucky, my daughter blurted out her verbal slur in the comfort of our own home. For you, it could be the grocery store or church. Just be careful what you say 'cause they are taking it all in.