clip
clip
clip
"Mom, look, you're cutting my middle finger nail."
"Yep."
"And I'm pointing with my middle finger."
"Yes, I see that."
"Mom? What does that mean when you point your middle finger at someone?"
"It's a really mean and nasty gesture. It means 'f. you'."
"Fu?"
"No honey, not 'fu'."
So I spelled the words out. And out of my little 6-year-old's mouth came the word I was trying to avoid saying.
"Yes, dear. And please don't ever say it again. It's the worst of the bad words. K?"
"K. But what does f~ mean?"
*Sigh*
"It's kind of a yucky way of saying 'sex'."
"What's sex?"
7 comments:
of all the ways to open up THAT conversation....
I know! Thank heaven his older brother had just finished practicing the piano and yelled from the other room it was his brother's turn now. All thoughts of "what's sex" gone, and I was saved from explaining... this time.
Maybe sometimes it is better to not educate your children in the finer points of rude hand gestures.
Well, I have never said to my kids "I'll tell you when you're older". I think if a child has enough understanding to ask a question, they're ready for the answer. Sometimes I think answering kids' questions is hard for adults because we think we have to give the ENTIRE answer. Kids generally don't want to know the details. When they do, they'll tell you. "Line upon line, precept upon precept" is how I raise my kids. The last thing I want to hear from my boys is "Oh, I've known all about that for years, mom. A kid at school told me in the first grade!"
I shared this story with my office manager (we both laughed until we had tears). She mentioned that as a child she once innocently flipped off her mom and that her sister later explained that the middle finger gesture was "all the bad words rolled up into one". If you wish to avoid the sex talk with your six year old (or any other child that may ask you in the future), I think that explanation suffices (and it is not inaccurate, since rude hand gestures are usually not literal but merely a sentiment of rudeness).
Good idea. I'll have to use that one next time. Tell your office manager thanks for the suggestion and that I'm glad I could provide a bit of humor for her day. :)
Oh the joys of being a MOM! We have had the talk with our 13 and 11 year old kids and I still don't think our 11 year old has a clue what we were talking about. Hopefully she doesn't anyway! Good luck with that conversation!!
Post a Comment