As a parent, do you ever feel like your words somehow go in one ear and out the other when you speak to you children? They look at you *BLINK BLINK BLINK* like you are speaking some Alien Language? Then, one day, all of a sudden, they quote you, appropriately to someone else. Huh? Did they just say that? Now I am the one standing there *BLINK BLINK BLINK* dumbfounded and looking around for witnesses to make sure I heard what I heard.
Saturday morning, in a mad dash to get to a birthday party on time, we all piled into the car only to get stuck in a little construction traffic on the way. As we were sitting there, Allegra and Mina start commenting about the construction and how it could have been handled differently.
Allegra: I don’t think they should be doing construction on both sides of the street at the same time. Don’t you always tell us to take it ONE STEP AT A TIME? They should have done that! They are doing too much at once!!
Mina: You are right, Allegra. I feel they are not considering other people and needing to get to places. They should do things step by step like my mom says!
Allegra: [to me] Will you tell them that they should have planned better and to do their projects one side at a time? It works really well for us, maybe it would help them too?
Now, I am at the “blinkblink” stage, hearing them and wondering if they really DO want me to get out of the car to talk to the construction workers. I have never disciplined construction workers before, so not exactly sure how to do it. I ask the girls how I should handle it. They tell me to talk to them the next time I see construction, for now, it’s ok.
It is nice to have those moments when you realize that your kids do listen to you and can apply what they are told to a different set of circumstances. It also makes you think of all the unconscious things we say to our kids that they are internalizing and reflecting. Their brains are sponges now and absorb everything: good and not so good.
Be careful with your words because little ears are listening!!