From the Mouths of Babes
By Susan Koeppen
One reason I love little kids is because of all the hilarious things they say. You just never know what's going to come out of their mouths.
This can be a good thing and a bad thing, as I'm finding out as a mother of 3. I've learned you can't always believe the stories you hear. And some of them are quite juicy. In fact, some of them would make a good television news story or even a great scenario in a soap opera. Just the other day my 3-year-old daughter told my babysitter that I had been pulled over by the police and arrested. She wasn't sure of my crime, but it DEFINITELY had happened and I was hauled off to jail. (FYI: just in case you believe little Reagan -- I've never been to the slammer).
I learned of my arrest after I told Stephanie (my babysitter) that the kids told me she leaves them alone all the time in the car while she runs into the store to grab a drink. And they encouraged me to do the same during a recent trip the gas station. They wanted drinks and candy inside the convenience store and told me to do what Stephanie does -- just leave them alone for a minute, run in, grab the goods and come back. Really? Really.
Of course Stephanie and I got a good laugh out of all of this. But I really busted a gut after the story my son told me on the way home from school the other day. He said that one of his little classmates (they are in kindergarten) told him that her parents like to party naked. I pressed for more information. Apparently, the parents like to hug in the morning and have parties while they're naked. Wow! Now that's a story.
But it got even better when he said that, according to his little friend, sometimes the neighbors like to come over and be naked, too. I told my son that was a very interesting story and asked swiftly, "Hey Baden, do you ever talk about me at school? " (crossing my fingers, 'Please say no, please say no.) He replied, "I tell people I love you." Good answer!! Good answer!!
So here's what I've learned from all of this: Kids have great imaginations. You can't always believe EVERYTHING they say, and I'll have a big smile on my face everytime I see that little girl's parents.