Annalee and Daddy like to have conversations that go like this:
Annalee: I'm scary!
Daddy: But who's the scariest?
Annalee: Daddy!
Today he asked her "Who is scarier, Daddy or Uncle Steve?"
"Daddy!" she shouted.
"And who's the smartest?"
"Mommy!"
Awww, I wasn't even one of the choices. Then she said that the "cutest" was Vander. This is another one of those stories that would have been great if it ended here, but a few minutes later . . .
"Mommy, who has the fattest tummy?" she asked with exhuberance.
My own enthusiasm for the game faltered and I muttered, "Um, I guess that would be me."
Encouraged, she went on. "Who has the fattest tummy in the whole world? A tummy sooooooo fat that--"
"Annalee," I explained calmly, "it's not really nice to say someone has a fat tummy, even if it's true."
"But [someone that shall not be named] has a REALLY FAT tummy--"
"ANNALEE!" That's not nice to say. You might hurt someone's feelings. Instead, we could say [someone] is REALLY FUN!"
Since we're talking about who is the best at certain things, I think Annalee's talent is being the most honest.
Any veteran parents out there have ideas for teaching your kids the difference between tact and lying?
6 comments:
Hmmm, never figured it out myself!
On second thought, "Thumpers lesson" has always been a favorite of mine: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Then "all" you have to do is teach her what is "nice" and what is not nice.
Even brutal honesty can be cute from such an adorable girl. :) I agree about Thumper's rule. We just tell Matty what might hurt someone's feelings and he knows not to talk about that stuff to others. Jossy seems to be understanding that some.
This brings back horrible memories from when Trevor told a dear friend of mine she had a big bottom. Ugh...As I fumbled for the right thing to say, my friend just said, "Isn't it wonderful that Heavenly Father makes everyone different?" I love how you handled it, telling Annalee to find something positive to say instead.
I have a lady staying with me that is 74 from Columbia and has no family. I've known her since I was 6. She is very homely and is missing most of her teeth but she is very sweet and a very faithful Latter Day Saint. A 3 year old boy I babysit today said to her, very matter of factly, "You're Ungly." Ahhh! I was not happy with him!
I just found an awesome book that talks about this idea. "The Honest- to- Goodness Truth" by Patricia McKissack.
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