I hear this question a lot from my oldest son, who is kindergarten. He’s been saying it for about a year now. I have tried to recall where he got it from and I’m not sure, potentially from his old daycare but who knows.
It’s a bit of a wild card question coming from him. I never know what he’s going to ask but every time he asks it, I usually say, “Yes, you can tell me anything.”
It doesn’t matter if he’s hit his brother 2 minutes prior to asking this question, I always make an effort to listen to what he is going to ask me.
Ninety percent of the time, it’s the silly stuff or a request for food but on those days when he’s in a big-boy-grown-up mood, I’ll try to work in a “Mommy-is-always-here-for-you” nugget.
The other day we had a little chat…
“Mom, can I tell you something?”
I said “Yes, you can tell me anything good or bad.” (I thought I would spice it up a bit.)
To which he replied, “Even the bad things?”
And I said “Yes, even the bad things, I’ll always be there to listen.”
He was surprised that I wanted to know about the bad things. And so for 3.5 nano seconds, I felt that I got through to him on some level.
Is this going to make a difference down the road? The odds are probably 50/50.
I like to think that I’m laying the foundation for open communication between me and my son. It might be a lofty goal, but one I’ll happily try to achieve.
Do your kids have a special phrase they use and what does it mean to them? Let me know at weeboot@gmail.com or on Twitter @weebootMom.
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