The kids and I were sitting down to lunch when Quinn turns and looks at me. He gets a big smile on his face, opens his mouth and says happily,
"You're stupid Mama!".
Whoa. Thoughts race through my mind, "What was that?! I don't think so! Try that again, Mr.!".
I look at my 5 year old. He's beaming.
New thoughts enter my mind, "He's trying out a new word. He likes the way it sounds. He doesn't get how hurtful that word is.".
Deep breath. Teaching moment, here I go....
I smile. I ask him where he's heard that word. He doesn't know. I tell him that's not a nice word to say to someone. It's an ugly word, a mean word.
The twins are glued this exchange. The next few minutes made my head spin. But it was a funny spin. A new kind of conversation for me and my kids. It went something like this;
"How about stinky?"
"How about big puffy?"
"Hello Cow!" ouch.
Language. Nice words. Mean words.
My kids are growing up.
The conversation ended with us suggesting happy words to replace bad ones. The phrase that everyone liked best was one Quinn used on my Dad just a few weeks ago. "Hi Gorgeous!". Quinn came up with that one all on his own. I think he's going to turn out alright after all.
5 comments:
You handled that beautifully!!!
Love your blog!
Lynn
I love this. Love you. Love your kids.
Molly. This is the best. I loved the moment where you listened to the Spirit instead of getting mad or going nuts. It's easy to just react, as a mom, sometimes for me. I love the moments when I listen and act, instead of react. You do this naturally!!! WAY TO GO.
oooh i like the 'big puffy' comment! very creative... way to be so patient!
You are such a great Mom, Molly. I would love to hear Quinn say 'Hi gorgeous'. I bet it's pretty darn cute.
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