Monday, October 28, 2013

That Awkward Moment When...

...your kid says something inappropriate about a stranger in public.

Well, I mean, it's just an honest observation and not entirely inappropriate. Sometimes.

Being four is tough. The abstract and the concrete are colliding with each other in ways that must be terrifying. The imagination is at FULL SPEED and yet the real knowledge of things is growing too. Add in full time public school and my sponge of a daughter (who also happens to have an insanely good memory) is in a bit of a tailspin.

Examples (just to name a few):

1) Lila and I had fun running errands just the two of us yesterday. While in line for some food at Ikea she pointed at the lady in front of us and yelled, "mommy, she's about to have a baby!". No really. She YELLED it. Because Lila really only knows one volume and it's rarely quiet. She said it in such a lovely, excited way that I couldn't help but smile. That is until the pregnant woman looked a little defeated and said, "yes I am...any minute" with a faint and tired smile. She wasn't angry. She wasn't judging my kid. She was just evidently done and sort of sick of the whole world pointing out just how done she was. 

2) A very sweet friend who just had a baby came over to visit and Lila told her she had a big tummy still. Said friend handled it with immense grace and didn't seem phased, but I was so embarrassed! 

3) There was another situation where we were shopping (no I don't just shop all day) and Lila asked why "the dark skinned person and the light skinned person" were together. Not because she thought it wasn't okay, but because she had never actually see this before. 

Now, it's clear as day to me that there are some well thought out conversations to be had with Lila in the immediate future. My question is, in the heat of the moment when you haven't discussed some specific something with your child how do you handle it? I feel like I did an okay job of not brushing over it but not getting into a deep conversation about it right then either.

For those who have kids how do you handle these situations?


3 comments:

  1. The other day in the auto parts store, Cole yelled out, "mommy, is that a man or a woman?". To his credit, it was extremely hard to tell. I played it off and pretended like he was talking about someone who was obviously a man and then made it into a game... I'm a woman, you're a boy, etc. It's so awkward.

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    Replies
    1. Yes! This is what I'm talking about. I even tried to remember if someone else's kid has ever said anything random to me. If they did it was probably similar to the "about to have a baby" situation.

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  2. At least she was actually pregnant! I can't even imagine what you would say if she wasn't...

    I try to make it a teachable moment like when Ella called a little girl "dat boy" at the grocery store I said "Oh no, that isn't a boy and its not nice to point a people." and then move one.

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