Words of a Child

Deep Thinker was asking me if King Kong was gentle with people, and I explained that wild animals may seem gentle sometimes. I added that we should stay away from them, because we just never know what they’ll do next.

So, my son kept asking me to explain more about wild animals. We ended up on the topic of parrots, and he was thrilled to learn that they can talk.

He told me that if a person goes near a bird’s nest, he or she might get attacked by the mother bird. I asked him how he knew this. He said, “My smarts comes from imaginary books.”

I inquired further. He explained that when he learns something new, he opens a book in his mind and puts the new thing in there so he can read it later. So, my husband had told our son about the mother bird protecting her nest and that she will attack people who get too close. Deep Thinker filed this away into one of his “books.”

My favorite detail about this story is the way he referred to this stored information as his “smarts.” I want my children to feel equal to others–but not superior, so while I do think they are smart, I don’t talk about this constantly. I might reference something when praise is due for a good job figuring out a problem or something along these lines. Therefore, I find the term “my smarts” amusing–he must have heard another person say this.

Filed under: Child Thoughts, Kids Talking about Themselves, School Tales, Uncategorized