& 
Guests
Lorraine
Erica
As a parent of young children communication in general and specifically the use of the English language has taken on a whole new meaning for me of late. Somehow I find myself in a perpetual spelling bee with my spouse where I say each letter of questionable words I deem not suitable for young ears. “Honey, are you sure the goldfish is D-E-A-D? When should we T-E-L-L the kids? Recently and much more disturbingly I found myself alone with my significant other on the way to a well deserved dinner out with friends, the kids safely at home with their Nana babysitting, and I catch myself saying “I saw this terrible A-C-C-I-D-E-N-T on the way to work”…ah um. My spouse looks at me with an amused smirk and dutifully informs me that our usual word game is not required in the absence of our little angels. I spend the rest of the evening in utter terror that I may utter more spelling diatribe to our dinner guests or worse the waiter. “Can I get some fresh ground P-E-P-P-E-R please?”
I wonder to myself if all of the angst and careful selection of wording is worth it. Am I really protecting my children from irreversible harm? Should I be more open and less concerned with having to answer uncomfortable questions? I am definitely not saying I am going to be sloppy and lazy in my conversation, use expletives or disparage anyone in front of my children, but I think I may have gone too far in keeping them in a verbal bubble zone. After all, don’t they need to learn context and gain the ability to handle challenging discussions?
After a ton of research on the Internet and a few parenting books later, I’ve come to the conclusion it is more about common sense than any professional opinions. I’ve decided the most important thing is being as purposeful as possible in conversation with my children. The simple facts are that as parents, we are the center of our children’s lives. They view all of our actions as indicative of the way the world works. They learn language from us and more importantly how to interact and respond with words. As a result of this introspection I’ve decided to spell less and have more meaningful basic conversations. Why not explore difficult topics in a kid friendly way, it will help them learn. “Honey, the goldfish was looking sick, did you kids notice that as well? Fishies don’t live as long as cats and dogs or even people, did you know that?
So what do you think? Are you ready to T-R-Y a little harder in conversations with your little ones? Not only will it help our children learn, it may make you seem at little more grown up during a night out with friends.
Rookie Dad Terry
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Read Our Archived Guest Blog Posts
Dr. Kim Newell with Hacking Up a Lung: What is the Best Cough Medicine for Kids?
Becky Goddard-Hill with How to Survive a Family Christmas on a Budget
Kim Greenlee of Sprig Toys with The Right Stuff (in the toy aisle)
**There’s still time to enter the Sprig Toys Dino Adventure Rig giveaway. Closes Dec 31st. Click here to leave a comment.**
Margaux Nissen Gray with Not for Ninnies
Tawna Hill with What is Natural?
