Category Archives: What Kids Say!

Funny, insightful and amazing things that kids say. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we reflect but we are always engaged by what children say.

4 Yr Old, Fireworks, Pink Guitar and Daddy

4 Yr Old, Fireworks, Pink Guitar and Daddy

Little 4 Yr Old  Girl and her Daddy sing to scare away the fireworks

If you ever wondered why daddies matter, watch this little home made video of a little girl who is afraid of the fireworks, her daddy and a pink guitar.  She is adorable and her daddy is so patient, strong and reassuring.

Do you remember the fear of loud noises in the night?  I do and I remember pulling the covers over my head to keep the boogie men away but I do not remember my daddy singing to me on my little pink guitar while filming it for the world to see – oh, right, we did not have pink, child sized guitars, iphones or youtube.  But my daddy saved me anyway.

We need Dads

I do not want to discourage the single moms out there or say anything that implies they have to have a guy because it aint so but at the same time, we do need to recognize the tremendous impact strong, supportive and available dads have on the lives of their kids.

My experience is that dads address situations differently and just the exposure to those different reactions and experiences gives a child balance and confidence.  The dads in my life have been tinkers and creators of new devices that worked to solve a problem.  Whether it was a book cover for odd shaped books, science projects that were outside the box or devices to close the door from a distance to keep the big brothers out of the room.  They were creative thinkers.

Dads also have a strength in the way they hold you as a child, hold your hand as you get older or speak to you wen angry that makes you know they are in control.  So depending on the circumstance the child can be totally safe or completely afraid.

This charming little father daughter duo has stole my heart this week.  How about you?

The Scared is scared – A Movie by a 6 year old

The Scared is scared – A Movie by a 6 year old

A 6 year old’s Fantasy and Advice turned into a Movie

 

A Movie by a 6 year old is magic!  When Bianca Giaever asked a six-year-old what the movie she was making for college should be and she turned that earful into a piece of simply magic.

The movie, called the Scared is scared, tells the tale of a bear, a mouse, swimming pools, sleepovers, friendship, pizza and life. It’s excitement, fear, joy and bewilderment wrapped up into a story full of heart and humor that only a six-year-old’s imagination could provide.  Mashable Read the rest of this entry

Making Food from Scratch

Making Food from Scratch

Great Questions from Little Minds

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch,” Carl Sagan famously observed in Cosmos“you must first invent the universe.” The questions children ask are often so simple, so basic, that they turn unwittingly yet profoundly philosophical so as to require “apple-pie-from-scratch” type of answers.

Making food from Scratch

RTW age 2.5

My daughter, aged 2.5 posed one such question to me.  How do you make Grape Juice?  Though it may sound innocent enough, my attempt to satisfy her with Concentrated juice resulted in a fit for the ages.  She was on the floor, screaming with uncontrollable outrage as only a 2 year old can.  So we went to the store to buy grapes to make grape juice.  When I chose the green grapes (seedless of course) she again went into an outrage.  However, since we were in a public place, I quickly redirected her attention and put the fear of spoiling her behind me.  “POORPOOL GRAPES”  she said over and over and was ecstatically gleeful when we found big juicy purple grapes.  In fact, the entire grocery store was aware of our find and just how wonderful these PoorPul Grapes were.

Read the rest of this entry

The ABC Song

The ABC Song

My, How Things Change and What Children Learn

On my first day of school and first grade I thought I was hot stuff as my grandmother had taught me at home vs sending me to kindergarten because as she told me, I was too smart for that!  Of course, school has a way of putting one in their place and I was quickly reminded of mine!

We were asked who knew the alphabet song.  When everyone else raised their hand, I went along because, of course, it was the first performance test.  My grandmother had taught me all the letters, I was reading all the “Dick and Jane” books for first and second grade but I had never heard of the alphabet song.  It became quickly evident to my teacher, Mrs Ferrier, and I was called out and humiliated in front of everyone.  David Broughton and I had to stand with our noses   on the blackboard (in little circles she drew for each of us) and our backs to the class for what seemed like an eternity!  How embarrassing!  Even to this day over 50 years later I can feel the blood rushing up the back of my neck as I blushed.  (But I did make a friend in David, who was a talker from the beginning of time,  and I remember his birthday for some odd reason.)

This little girl is 30 months old – she knows the ABC song, she can identify all her letters, she can sight read many words and she is pretty proud of herself too!

Staying Connected

Staying Connected
Calling grandmother

Calling my grandmother

When I was a child, every Sunday we talked to my grandparents who lived hundreds of miles away and we were only able to see once every year or so.  I do not remember if we called them or they called us but it was an event in our household.  I remember having to recall what I had done or accomplished to share with them each week and it was good to actually have this time to reflect on my week and plan how to tell them of the important activities in my life.  This week I have texted my 14 year old granddaughter and received instant info (as needed), spoken with my 10 year old grandson which was sweet and simple and Skyped with my 2 year old granddaughter who is hundreds of miles away!

What communication is lost and gained with the technology available?

Lost:

Gained:

Excitement and Uniqueness Instant and Frequent
Reflection and Preparation Spontaneous and Unrehearsed
Spoken is Interpreted Once Texted is Interpreted Forever
Maturation of conversation Auto correct

Here are some of the  facts I have learned about our communication changes:

Teen granddaughter

Talking to Teens

Children and Phones

Children and Phones

Fully 72% of all teens — or 88% of teen cell phone users — send text messages, up from 51% of in 2006 and about 0% since 1996.

Have you ever been at a party and felt an awkward moment, so pulled out your cell phone and pretended to text, check an email, or chat?

You are not alone. A recent PEW study found that 13 percent of Americans admit to using their cell phones to prevent unwanted social interactions.

Hmm. Perhaps that’s why everyone’s always “texting” in the elevator.  Does it mean our children will be awkward more or just deal with it different?

One of the most dramatic increases in the use of cell phones was from 10 to 11 year old range with over 80.5% owning a handset. The study goes on to discover that boys are gaining in number to have a phone over girls – it has increased 47.6% for boys since 2007 and only 17.2% for girls. As more wireless providers are offering services that are aimed at kids, such as the use of GPS tracking, there will continue to be a boom in the usage of mobile phones among children.

My Baby

  THERE ARE 300 MILLION VIDEO CALLS A DAY ON SKYPE –

YIKES!

How are you connecting with your grandchildren?  Is it too much?  Would you go back to the once a week updates?  Not me – but I sure would love to hear the sweet sound of   my grandmother’s soft giggle or my granddad’s knowing nod as I told of the important events of my week!  Even Skype cannot bring that back.