Are you ever taken by surprise by something your kids say…out of the blue? Today at lunch my daughter started a conversation that surprised me on many levels. She was tuned in, took multiple appropriate turns, answered questions and absorbed complex answers. I will savor this one for a long time:
The Child: “Mom, I wish I could be a hummingbird.”
Mom: “Oh, why’s that?”
TC: “Because then I could have fun playing with all the other hummingbirds.”
M: “Um…I don’t think hummingbirds really play with each other very much.”
TC: “Why not?”
M: “Well, they fight a lot over food.”
TC: “Why?”
M: “Hummingbirds eat a lot of food, for their size, and they always think there might not be enough, so if they find food first they chase other hummingbirds away.”
TC: “Oh, then I want to be the biggest hummingbird…” [Have to admit I thought she was going to say so that she could always get the most food.] “…then I could teach the little hummingbirds to share.”
M: “That sounds like a really nice idea.”
TC: “Yeah…then everyone will have enough. I can be the Mommy, and I’ll teach five babies.”
Okay, so maybe all that social skills therapy really is starting to sink in!
Any child-sized surprises on your plate today?