Most of us would have seen it on videos, often presented as ‘funniest things kids say’. However, how many of us have actually asked our children such question and see what do they think?
Wednesday nights are the designated time where I will lie with Elly until she falls asleep. Tucked underneath the blanket with her hot-water bottle by her side (during winter of course), I have discovered that this has resulted in a very comfortable and safe environment to have meaningful conversations with my 9-year old. And so, moving carefully from the usual topics of her calisthenics, her best friend, her school, the dinner we just had, I popped the question…
“Elly, what do you mean when you say you love daddy?”
“It means I will hug and kiss you everyday…”
A slight pause, and she continued….
“It means I will love you to the moon and back, that even if you are on the moon, I will still love you, and then come back” :)
I guess that was my version “funniest things kids say”. We went on to talk about what daddy and mommy loving her means, about caring and looking after her and making sacrifices for her (have to do a bit of explanation on the meaning sacrifice). Lying there listening attentively, I believe she absorbed quite a bit, a small step towards educating her on what love means.
Before we called it a day, I asked… “Elly, why moon? What about loving daddy to the sun and back?”
“No daddy, the sun is very hot. If you’re there, you die”
Ok… to the moon it is.
