David and I are pretty mild-mannered -- I think I've heard David raise his voice twice in the decade and a half that I've known him and if I'm really mad you might hear me utter a "darn." So, you know how sometimes you hear stories of little ones who have picked up swear words from their foul-mouthed parents? Not our kid. Cameron still has an innocence about him that I wish he'd never lose!
This weekend, we visited an nearby park. Two brothers, who appeared to be about 6 and 8 years old, were playing together, apparently unsupervised. As brothers are apt to do, they were fighting and picking on each other. The older yelled at the younger, "Shut up!" Nearby, Cameron's mouth rounded into a silent, shocked little O. Eyes wide, he sidled over to me and whispered in horror, "Ooooh. He said, 'Shut up!'"
Another example: Cameron and I are currently listening to Louise Fitzhugh's "Harriet the Spy" on CD. It is one of my childhood favorites, although I had forgotten just how mouthy and mischevious dear Harriet and her friends are. Today, we listened as one of Harriet's friends called someone an idiot. From the backseat of the car, I heard a gasp. "Mommy!" said Cameron. "WHAT is an idiot?" Fumbling with my answer, I said, "Well, it means someone who isn't very smart. But even if someone isn't very smart, it is not nice to call someone an idiot. I hope that you would never say that." Indignant, Cameron replied, "Mommy, I would NEVER call someone an idiot! That's NOT nice."
Check the blog again when Cameron is a pre-teen and we'll see if he keeps his word!
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