Don’t forget about our week of giveaways over here . . . Today’s giveaway is a cute bag from Thirty One gifts filled with some goodies from Tastefully Simple . . .
A few weeks ago, I asked Spencer if he had sung a song his brother, Samuel, sang in the same class last year. (Oh my gosh. I just wrote a tongue-twister.)
“We haven’t unlocked that song yet, Mom,” he answered.
Thinking for sure I hadn’t heard him correctly, I asked for clarification.
I had indeed heard him correctly.
Mind you, our children don’t play video games all day. In fact, our Wii is broken so nobody’s playing video games at all these days.
After explaining that life doesn’t work like the levels of Mario Kart, he still preferred to say he had not unlocked that particular song yet.
Last week, he bounded out the door of his preschool class and excitedly revealed “We unlocked the song, Mom! We unlocked it!”
Which, of course, pretty much made me look like I just stick him in front of Mario Kart all freaking afternoon but luckily, I’m a recovering people-pleaser so I didn’t dwell on that for too long.
Also, my crew is all about finding slug-bugs these days – those brightly colored VW Bugs in case you’ve lived on another planet until yesterday and don’t know what those are.
The science behind slug-bugs is when you see one, you must blurt, at the very top of your lungs of course, the color and then proclaim it as yours.
I never did the proclaiming part as a kid but then, I was an only child. My three feel they must firmly plant their stakes in the ground and proclaim their rightful territory.
“Slug Bug Yellow!!!!!!,” I hear from, once again, Spencer.
Then . .
“I’ll put it in my account,” he adds.
“What?!” I ask, once again for clarification.
“My account of slug-bugs. It’s where I keep all of the slug-bugs that are mine,” he answers, a little too matter-of-factly.
And this, my friends, is the generation of children we are parenting.
It’s a new language (I’m pretty sure if I told my mom we had unlocked a song in my preschool class in 1976, I would be off to a child psychologist) that even the most sheltered of children can speak. Fluently.
Here’s more evidence I’m getting old: I tried to explain to my kids the other night that when I was their age, if I wanted to watch a show on TV, I had to look up when it would be on and then, gasp, watch it at that specific time and place.
“Why couldn’t you just record it, Mom?” Samuel asks, his tone implying I’m a complete idiot.
“We didn’t have DVR’s then, bud,” I answer.
Thoughtful silence.
“What about movies?” Sarah inquires.
“We saw them at the movie theater,” I say.
“You didn’t have DVD’s?” asks Spencer.
“Nope and if you didn’t see the movie at the movie theater, you just didn’t see it,” I answer.
More thoughtful silence.
“Did you live during the Little House on the Prairie days, Mom?” Spencer asks.
After this conversation, I think I might have.
What about you? Do your children speak a different language you didn’t speak when you were a kid?
Oh my goodness! I tell my kids all the time that we actually had to get off the couch and walk up to the tv to LITERALLY TURN the channel. and then we only had like 5 channels. I totally forgot about the having to look in up in the tv guide first! :)
Yes, my kids are learning a completely different vocabulary than we did. although I agree that your references are most likely based off video games and such, I have found that the schools themselves are using a COMPLETELY different language when they are teaching our kids. half the time I have no idea what they are talking about. the other day my parents were babysitting and had to GOOGLE the words the math worksheet was using to figure out how to help my son with his homework. I could TOTALLY see the teachers even using a term like “unlocked” at school to signify the learning of a new thing. (makes me think of Matt Chandler and how he always uses the term “unpacked” when talking about “unpacking a sermon”. ) My favorite is how you go to a meeting with your kids teacher and they tell you their favorite words and how they are using them so you can all be on the same page at home. sheesh!
Seriously just made me laugh out loud. Completely forgot we didn’t have remotes!
Also, couldn’t agree more with the school thing. Sarah came home last year and was showing me how to borrow in subtraction. I didn’t get it. I showed her my way and she didn’t get it. Teacher wins.
Too funny – thanks for making me laugh today!
Mike's kids ask if they can "pause" what they're doing, like when their reading a book!
Love it…
When Will (age 3) isn't enjoying what's going on in the room (the conversation, the activity, the food), he yells, "GAME OVER!"
Hilarious, Trinette! Love it – I’m quite surprised Spence hasn’t thrown this one out…
Love this post!! My grandson (almost 4) amazes me with his vocabulary using words like complicated, interesting, it's a mystery, and hypothesis CORRECTLY!!
Wow – now that’s quite an astute vocabulary for a four year old, Dana! At least they aren’t all video game related…:)
We are probably corrupting my 5 year old with 70-80s terms. Since he is an only child and we aren’t very social, my wife and I usually say we “taped” Scooby Doo for you, instead of “record” or whatever else folks say nowadays. My wife is originally from Oregon and think our son’s southern accent here in Georgia is bad, yet using the outdated terms we use!
Lee, I catch myself saying stuff like “taped” as well – generation gap, for sure! :)
Different language for certain! I have also been asked about Little House on the Prairie when referring to my childhood. Yikes!
All the cool people are from the Prairie, Jen…
This made me laugh so hard! My kids do similar things and I find it both funny and annoying at the same time! This past summer, our daughter told my husband that he was too old to wear cargo shorts. Seriously. You have to be in college or younger to wear those. Sigh… we aren't that old (I'm pretty sure!)
HA! No, you’re not too old for cargo shorts…Kids…they sure do keep us humble!
YES! We aren't even video game people in this house and L will make references to them. M will refer to anything as to how it relates to the movie Cars or Wreck It Ralph or Superheroes (although, to be honest, I probably have to take the blame on that one, don't I?).
So funny, Theresa…I love boys…Of COURSE it’s all about Cars and Wreck It Ralph…