Everything you say can and will be used against you in…

life,

especially with children around.

You say something to them and either they incorporate it into their vocabulary or they repeat it in conversation, and usually to the parties that shouldn’t be hearing it…

be careful what you say about your family and friends in front of your kids.  They may repeat it or they may adopt your views or opinions of said person without giving them their own consideration.  You may cause them to dislike someone just because you may have been disgruntled with them and voiced it in front of your little one.

Find a way to tell a kinder tale or…

wait to talk about something unpleasant until after your little one is in bed or out of earshot.

One Saturday morning, my neighbor brought over some homemade beignets (fancy fried dough) from a Café du Monde box mix I’d given her. They were still warm and smelled cinnamony and I was thrilled to have one! Unfortunately, they were completely raw in the middle and absolutely inedible. I spit them out in the trash and my Beach Rose was a witness. She was all over it…’why did you spit it out, Mama? You didn’t like it? I love it!’  I told her that they were not my favorite because they were not cooked all the way through.

That Monday I had this same neighbor over for dinner & next thing I know my Beach Rose is telling her that I’d spit up her gift of fresh beignets into the trash!  The horror!  But, thank goodness I’d been kind enough in my description of how it wasn’t my favorite that when she repeated this, it wasn’t as harsh as it could have been…

It’s only natural that your day-to-day conversations with loved ones can involve venting about someone you know, ‘colorful’ language, and appalling details.  Be aware of your audience.  They absorb so much more than we sometimes give them credit for, understand plenty and look to you as a role model and therefore, your word is the be-all and end-all…