“MAMA! What does it smell like?”
Said my 4-year-old daughter as we entered the restaurant restroom because she just “had to go potty” right as our food was delivered to our table. At that very moment, I had one of two options. I could ask my child to be quiet and walk out the restroom back to our table, or I could take my daughter to the second stall right next to the lady who was letting out an interesting aroma worthy of my 4-year-old mentioning.
Well, I ended up letting my daughter go potty because in my mind, yes, the lady heard my daughter’s comment, BUT she also knew the truth behind her stall’s smell.
I am a mother of 5 for those who don’t already know, and I have had my share of terrible two’s, catfights between siblings, and most recently preteen/teen eye rolls and out of nowhere attitudes. One thing is for sure, though, between the ages of 3 and 6, kids say the darndest things. There used to be a TV show called “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” and it is funny to hear a kids’ perspective of the truth.
Kids honestly are the best news anchors and reporters because they do not hold back the truth.
In my last trimester of being pregnant with my son (my last baby), I decided I wanted my family to take a walk because I was determined to go into labor. It was a hot summer evening, and our family commenced down the sidewalk of our block. My kids are very friendly and love waving and saying hi. They get joy out of speaking to new people. About four houses down from our home, an elderly lady was sitting on her porch by her front door. As my family passed, all of my kids waved at her, and there was no response back to the friendly gesture. All of my family continued walking forward except my daughter Kadence. Kadence stood and again waved at the elderly lady to try and get a response, and nothing. My now 6-year-old took it upon herself to look the elderly lady in the eyes 20 feet away and said,
“Is you mad? IS YOU MAD?”
As she waved again, I guess this triggered something in the woman because she then began waving at my daughter and smiled. I could do nothing but laugh because my child was determined to get her to speak and respond.
Kids can’t help their truth, and it is an instinct for them. I could tell so many stories about my kids speaking the truth out loud, but I will say, don’t ever feel embarrassed by kids speaking the truth.
