Children Are Reflections

Whether you're a parent or not, you've seen children running about the landscape. These smaller versions of ourselves are not quite clones though they share genetic material with their parents, but what a lot of parents don't realize is that these little people are shameless reflections of their parents' lives. Kids do say the darnedest things...provided they heard it somewhere else first. Sure, sometimes children out think their parents and come up with ideas that their parents never dreamed of, but what I'm referring to are those awkward moments where junior does something, and mom's face turns a bright, brilliant shade of red.

What inspired this particular writing was a post someone popped on Facebook where they had communicated the movie title of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to their three year old. Now, the word "chitty" would be unfamiliar to anyone who has never heard of this movie or the Ian Fleming novel that inspired it. They're both kind of a head trip, and the film even includes a child molester, though there are no explicit references to this character being one, but I digress. This child responded to the title by repeating it using the best language he could match up to what he just heard: Really Sh*tty Bang Bang. Naturally, a good laugh was had by all.

What this person doesn't realize is that the one post communicates to the entire world exactly the type of language they tend to use around their child. After all, to come up with that, he would have had to have heard the words before, if not that two word phrase proceeding the Bang Bang.

If you watch children as they go about their world, you'll find all kinds of interesting facts about their parents that mom and dad never wanted out there. This is beyond just the words they use on an every day basis that they'd rather you not know about. Kids have really big mouths, and they'll tell anyone anywhere everything about everything they know if someone is willing to listen. If there are any secrets that you don't want divulged, you'd best not discuss it around the little ones.

How about that temper? Guess who will be the first to show the world how you react to stress? Give that little tyke something to frustrate him, and he'll demonstrate how well he's learned to deal with frustration by watching you. In fact, your kids want to be just like you. You are the template for their lives, and they see you as their model for how to live their lives. If you've ever wanted someone to idolize you and your every move, have children; they do this automatically...whether you like it or not.

Now, of course, children aren't mean or try to embarrass you on purpose. They don't learn that until later. In reality, they only want to make mom and dad happy with them. I recall getting onto one of mine for taking off across a parking lot once. She wasn't trying to be bad or run off. She saw the basket corral and wanted to help by getting a basket. I had to explain that as sweet as that was, she can't just take off running across a parking lot because it's dangerous.

Anyway, the point is that having children basically opens your house to everyone in the world who interacts with your kids. At some point they'll go to school, and since the school age is dropping to four (the Queen teaches four year olds in a public school now), that means their mouth control with strangers (and teachers who they also trust and idolize) is going to be that much less.

Sit back and think about everything you've ever done and said in front of your child. Now, realize that your little angel is going to tell every single person they come into contact with all of that variously at one time or another during their first few years in school before they've learned that they really shouldn't. Their teachers will get to know every sordid detail as the child just babbles on about your insecurities, embarrassments, description of what you look like naked if they've ever caught you with your pants down, problems, triumphs, imperfections, and every word your mouth has ever uttered in their presence. Oh yes, and if you have any foul opinions of the school or their teachers, take care not to say any of that in front of the children because their teachers will find that out too.

Let's face it. Kids are the spies the government has been dreaming of. Sleep tight.