Twenty creepy minutes a day

There are still spaces available for our Writing for Charity event.

I'm not sure what we're doing to our four-year-old's sense of humor and sense of reality. Maybe he'll grow up mistrusting all adults and questioning every word out of our mouths. Or maybe he'll grow up with a healthy skepticism and keen sense of humor. When we read books to him he knows well, we change the words. I'm sure many parents do this, especially when the book text is a little dry or silly. For example, there's a book that uses the word Love a lot, and we'll randomly change it to lettuce or lollipops or lamppost. But sometimes things get a little more morbid. Here's some overheard book reading with Max (age 4), a book that's supposed to be about having a new baby sister and becoming a big brother.

"Babies like to drink blood."
"No, not blood!"
"Oh, right, babies like to drink milk. Babies like to be cold and damp."
"No!"
"Oh, I mean, babies like to be warm and cozy."

"I'm a big kid. I can eat pizza and apples and flesh."
"Not flesh!"
"I mean, ice cream.

"Mommy and Daddy showed me pictures of when I was a snake."
"Not a snake!"
"Right, of when I was a baby."

"And now I have tentacles."
"Not tentacles!"
"I mean, and now I'm a big brother."