Thought Process At Age 4
My four year old son, Gaven, climbed up into the recliner with me tonight for a rare few moments. I think he was just cold and he knew I had put the time into producing heat in my surroundings since I arrived home tonight. Smart kid. It was a winning situation for him. He's made me happy by being there. I've made him happy by being warm.
I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to quiz him on how much, if any, he knew of the ten commandments. This was not an attempt to persuade the necessity to be on "green" for behavior at Preschool tomorrow. It's simply because I have been reading in the book of Exodus this week. Besides, I don't know how much he's learning at Preschool and Kinder Church. Yes, not knowing helps fulfill my role of daddy, right? I know that's what you moms were thinking.
I asked him if he knew any of the ten commandments. His pronunciation of "commandments" was worth the conversation. His first reply was, "Be nice to others." I told him that there is no commandment with those exact words, but I would give him credit. At his age, you want him to believe that is one of the ten commandments. His next answer displayed the innocent beauty of the thought process at age four. He said, "Don't take anyone's toys." I smiled until he turned his head back and focused his big blue eyes on mine for approval of his reply. I had to do away with the smile quickly and indulge his seriousness. Trust me, this is absolutely necessary. You would have to know Gaven. I quickly made the best of his heart-felt answer and said, "That's right, don't steal."
Since Iron Man 2 will be released in a little over a week from today, Gaven's dinner choice was Burger King because of the toy that comes with the kids meal. He's holding his new Iron Man prize and gently twisting the Tony Stark figurine between his two fingers while I am enlightening him on the other commandments. After a few moments of silence due to his pondering, he combined the only two "commandments" he knew and re-entered the discussion with,
"Daddy, I know what I should say to someone with a bigger Iron Man toy."
"What son?"
He points his chubby finger towards the what would be classmate, friend or stranger and said,
"That's a nice toy," with a grin and a quick nod of the head, he closes with, "but mine's better." I didn't know whether to smile or shake my head. So I did both.
I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to quiz him on how much, if any, he knew of the ten commandments. This was not an attempt to persuade the necessity to be on "green" for behavior at Preschool tomorrow. It's simply because I have been reading in the book of Exodus this week. Besides, I don't know how much he's learning at Preschool and Kinder Church. Yes, not knowing helps fulfill my role of daddy, right? I know that's what you moms were thinking.
I asked him if he knew any of the ten commandments. His pronunciation of "commandments" was worth the conversation. His first reply was, "Be nice to others." I told him that there is no commandment with those exact words, but I would give him credit. At his age, you want him to believe that is one of the ten commandments. His next answer displayed the innocent beauty of the thought process at age four. He said, "Don't take anyone's toys." I smiled until he turned his head back and focused his big blue eyes on mine for approval of his reply. I had to do away with the smile quickly and indulge his seriousness. Trust me, this is absolutely necessary. You would have to know Gaven. I quickly made the best of his heart-felt answer and said, "That's right, don't steal."
Since Iron Man 2 will be released in a little over a week from today, Gaven's dinner choice was Burger King because of the toy that comes with the kids meal. He's holding his new Iron Man prize and gently twisting the Tony Stark figurine between his two fingers while I am enlightening him on the other commandments. After a few moments of silence due to his pondering, he combined the only two "commandments" he knew and re-entered the discussion with,
"Daddy, I know what I should say to someone with a bigger Iron Man toy."
"What son?"
He points his chubby finger towards the what would be classmate, friend or stranger and said,
"That's a nice toy," with a grin and a quick nod of the head, he closes with, "but mine's better." I didn't know whether to smile or shake my head. So I did both.
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