Lately my daughter has been asking a lot of questions about life and the world around us. Knowing this stage in her life is an inquisitive one; I often take every question in stride and hope I can come up with an intelligent answer. You know, one that will shape her into becoming an exceptional human being…no pressure!
But recently she’s been coming home from school asking if certain “words” are bad. Words that aren’t really all that bad, but are likely being used differently than I would imagine which is why she’s so curious.
Two things come to mind during this process:
- Kids these days…
- What happened to my baby?
Thankfully, NONE of the words she’s asking about are actually curse words, which is what I was bracing myself for. Don’t get me wrong, I occasionally hear her mutter a “could be” curse word under her breath, likely from the comings and goings of my mouth when I think no one is listening (note to self – someone is ALWAYS listening), so finding a way to talk about words that aren’t so bad has left me searching for a different approach. An approach one would think is pretty easy – simply saying “no, of course that’s not a bad word” – yet knowing she’s likely digging for more information. Her next question is typically “WHY”? – totally age-appropriate!
What are your thoughts? How do you handle silly yet somewhat perplexing questions from your preschoolers? Leave a note in the comments section below!
