Jonah, our five-year old, is a very smart child. He's been doing a lot of reading this past year - memorizing sight words and learning how to sound things out. In addition to reading, he's also been playing video games and paying closer attention to TV shows and music that he sees and hears. This inquisitive nature, coupled with the culture in which we live, has forced us to start having discussions about "bad words."
So far, he's been very good and very respectful as we've talked about language with him. We've done our best to be honest and gracious as we've discussed these issues.
The other night, Jonah was eating and
I was running through my little blog list. I'm over at Hale's site, and Jonah says, "What's that word?"
"That's 'Hale,'" I say.
"Hale Yeah," Jonah says and walks off.
My mind then speeds to the next family gathering where Jonah will naturally feel the need to utter "Hale Yeah" in some sort of public gathering. (Because God likes to play jokes like that on me and Kristen.)
So, I take him aside and we talk about the word, "hell." I'm trying to be honest and I tell him that some people use the word "hell" in a bad way. I give him a few examples, because I want him to be able to recognize what I'm talking about. I tell him that some people might say, "Oh, hell!" when they're mad or even "Hell, yeah!."
Then we talked about Brian Hale's name sounds like "hell," so it might not be best to walk around saying "Hale, yeah!"
As I'm talking, I can see in his eyes that he's thinking of something.
"Hey, Dad. If you ever want to say 'Aw, hell!' you can just say 'Aw, jellybeans!'"
Thank you, Brian Hale for creating one of those conversations that can only happen with a five-year old!
"That's 'Hale,'" I say.
"Hale Yeah," Jonah says and walks off.
My mind then speeds to the next family gathering where Jonah will naturally feel the need to utter "Hale Yeah" in some sort of public gathering. (Because God likes to play jokes like that on me and Kristen.)
So, I take him aside and we talk about the word, "hell." I'm trying to be honest and I tell him that some people use the word "hell" in a bad way. I give him a few examples, because I want him to be able to recognize what I'm talking about. I tell him that some people might say, "Oh, hell!" when they're mad or even "Hell, yeah!."
Then we talked about Brian Hale's name sounds like "hell," so it might not be best to walk around saying "Hale, yeah!"
As I'm talking, I can see in his eyes that he's thinking of something.
"Hey, Dad. If you ever want to say 'Aw, hell!' you can just say 'Aw, jellybeans!'"
Thank you, Brian Hale for creating one of those conversations that can only happen with a five-year old!
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