So When Do They Talk Grandma?

Tweet  We have often heard the sentiment, "from the mouths of babes." Bill Cosby even capitalized on the funny things that kids say with his television show, Kids Say The Darndest Things. 

   The other day I was looking at some old pictures and remembered some of the great lines my kids have said over the years.

What makes them so great? They're honest, children call them how they see them.


Here are a few of my favorites:


My daughter looking into my grandmothers face, "Grandma why do you have so many lines on your face?"


My granddaughter at her first time seeing the Nutcracker Ballet, "So when do they start talking, Grandma?"

My grandson when he jumps real high he says, "Grandma, look I can jump up sky." or "Look at the bird, up sky." 

 

When I was little our neighbor asked why our mom didn't drink coffee, my brother said, "'Cause it turns her bottom brown." 


What are some of your favorite lines? 

Why Wednesday: Seeing the World Like A Four-Year-Old

     When I look back on raising my children I can pick out ages that I especially liked and some that were not so enjoyable.  I would say some of the hardest were the ages of 12 and 13. Interesting enough when I think of my own childhood, those were some of my most difficult years. (More on that in another post)  One of my favorite ages was when my children were four. Everyday, almost every hour an innocent little face would turn to me and ask why. 

Let me tell you about my four year old grandson, Luke. Like most children his age he is interested in the why, what and how of everything around him. He can't learn and experience everything fast enough. One day when he was playing with some children the familiar question of size came up. "I'm bigger than you," said the big kid. Luke looked hurt but then quickly quipped, "Well, I'm smarter." *stifled laughter* It was then that we realized we had a live one and he was ready to hit the world head-on.

Four-year-olds don't miss a thing. Every nuance, every detail is absorbed and stored, only to come out later, hopefully not in an embarrassing way. (You know, the cuss word yelled at the top of their lungs or a detailed description of last nights argument to a complete stranger) If they don't get something they question it.

Somewhere along the way, we lose that intrinsic curiosity and confidence. We become complacent observers.  As writers we need to tap back into this mindset. We need to ask why our character wants what they want. What is it that makes this character so mean? How come he's afraid when he sees a spider? The real challenge is how do we train ourselves to see the world as if we are seeing it for the first time?

What tools do we have to get us to that paradigm?