kids’ conversations 5-31-26

Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom, surprises and insights as shown in the following vignettes. Sam and Henry sat at the table munching cereal one morning when Sam (then 10) turned to Henry (then 7) and confidently told him, “Did you know that you are a BOGO? Buy one, get one free. Mom and Dad had me and then they got you. So you are a BOGO.” “I am not.” Henry protested. “Yep. They got me and the hospital added you extra because they got me first.” . . . . . One day the boy’s Mom asked Sam, “What’s Henry doing? Is he being safe?” “Your safe, yes. My safe, no,” Sam responded . . . . . I decided to redirect some of Sam and Henry’s energy one morning. “Come you two. I want you to run upstairs to the bedrooms, turn around, come back down and go down to the basement. Do that five times.” Henry may be younger. He may have had heart surgery as an infant, but he is a more athletic. He has challenged big brother Sam since he could stand and push. Sam climbed steps fast. Henry climbed faster until they overlapped. “No fair you didn’t go all the way to the bottom.” Still they kept dashing up and down the stairs until they finished their required laps. “Are you ready to go out to play now?’ I asked. “No. We are too tired.” . . . . . Sounded like their dad. When he was a kid, I used to insist he and my daughter walk, crawl or run around the block before they watched TV. I always felt it was better to have them wear themselves out than let them wear me out. . . . . My daughter’s children use stairs for exercise and fun, too. One day they took a crib mattress and used it as a sled to slide down the stairs, bumping all the way to the bottom. Another time, Katie, then 4, invited her younger cousin Renae to join her in bumping down those same steps on their bellies . . . . Back in Covid time, the kids had a long, fun summer at home. When school re-opened students had to wear face masks. Katie, still a preschooler, did not have to wear the mask her mother bought for her. Usually she refused to wear it. At least she did until the day they went shopping. That day she decided she would wear the mask…over her entire face. Her mom and sister had to guide her everywhere they went. . . . . With all the computers these days , kids learn keyboarding early. Daisy, then 8, told her mother, “The teacher said I am the fastest in the class right now.” Which is saying a lot with nearly 100 students in her grade. Daisy added, “And then one of the boys said, ‘Well of course, she is the smartest kid in the class’,” “And did that make you feel pretty good?” Her mom asked. “Yeah, I thought, ‘It’s about time someone recognized that,” said Daisy, the quiet, shy middle child. . . . . At least Daisy was in school with others. Henry’s school went virtual. His mom sent a picture of him sitting in a corner all by himself holding drum sticks as he watched his computer. “Music class,” she wrote. Music education with Covid restrictions. . . . . At home, Katie learned letters and easy spelling. She turned to her mom one day and asked, “Mom, what if USA stood for God?” She laughed, according to her mom. My daughter recounted, “Her four year old mind thought that was funny, but my adult mind heard a second meaning. I cried out to God, ‘Yes, Lord, what if the USA truly represented You? What a difference we could make globally for Your glory.’” Out of the mouths of babes comes wit and sometimes wisdom.