Background: This morning during the breakfast routine, 3-year old Caroline was reaching for a box containing fresh bottles of food coloring. Given her history, I made a command decision to head off disaster and said, "Caroline, put those back please, if you touch them, you'll get color stains all over your pajamas."
Later: I'm in the bathroom brushing teeth and chatting with Hannah when Caroline appears at the door, very sober expression on her face. "What will happen if I touch what, now?" I had already forgotten the incident from earlier, and I squatted down to ask her to repeat the question. "What will happen if I touch them, now?" "Touch what, Sweetie?" "The food colors." "Oh, the food coloring bottles. You'll get color stains on your pajamas." With deadly earnest and not a hint of a smile: "I touched them." There were no (new) color stains on her pajamas.
Silence reigned in the room as I absorbed this. Hannah started to shake, stifling a laugh. "Busted," she whispered.
Moral: While backpedaling to rephrase my warning and admonition, I realized that kids listen, whether or not they acknowledge, and when it's to their advantage, they will hold you to your words. (See this post for another recent example from the same child.) To all the Daddies out there: be careful!
