We all know that kids are brutally honest. Not a day goes by that they keep their opinions to themselves- which I guess keeps me humble. I might have a day where I’m thinking, “Dang, I am looking pretty good right now”, only to be told 5 minutes later by my 3 year old that I’m “huge compared to her.” So good for my self esteem.
Here’s a few of my absolute favorite ‘opinions’ my kids have felt necessary to tell me:
“You kinda still look like there’s a baby in there.”
“You smell.”
“Your hair looks like gross noodles.”
“If you sat on me I would die.”
“You should wear prettier shoes.”
“Maybe you should go running like that lady.”
“This chicken doesn’t taste at all like chicken.”
“Your breath is so gross.”
“You could take a cooking class.”
“Do you brush your teeth at all?”
People, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea- and if you’ve been around kids at all, you’ve been there too. So, the last couple days I’ve been trying to reinforce (AGAIN), the idea of a positive compliment. Now, I’m all for kids having their own opinions- but I’m also for teaching them to FILTER them a little better. For instance, if they’re at school and somebody stinks to high heaven, instead of saying, “You smell disgusting!” they could try and find something positive about that person that they DO like.
Which brings me to today. I’ve been getting LOTS of compliments by all 3 kids. And that’s wonderful. But it’s led me to some sort of uneasy conclusion: either I am having a rockstar day as a mom and they just can’t control themselves with how amazing I am, OR- they are still thinking the negative stuff and trying hard to come up with positive things to say. I’m actually a little more self-conscious NOW then I was before. Just do me a favor- if my kids pay you a compliment, just try and take it at face value, ok? I know that’s what I’m gonna tell myself anyway….
