Are You Smarter Than an Almost 5 Year Old?

Clearly I am not.

So lately Owen and I have had many talks. These talks can be about anything. About what songs I sang when I was a little girl, about how Konon (a girl in his class) made a mess on the bus and she didn't get recess because she had to clean the bus and that is "not good mom". Or about why we were not allowed to go out in town because some marines broke the rules. I love talking to my boy and occasionally I use these talks as a chance to teach him something. Or so I thought.

One topic recently discussed was gambling. Here in Okinawa there are many pachinko/slot buildings on the way to Owen's school. They also have slot machines in some of the restaurants on base. Owen is intrigued by these because he thinks they are video games. So one day he asked when we could go to one of those pachinko places. I, taking advantage of this teachable moment, began to tell Owen of the perils of gambling. I told him how it is not wrong but it isn't a wise choice to make with the money that God has given us. I told him about being good stewards and how mommy and daddy need to make wise choices with our money so we can provide him and Alison with food, shelter, clothing, toys etc. He was very attentive and I was thinking so highly of myself and my explanation and thought he was surely frightened of the possibility of us losing all our money. After my long lecture he looked straight at me and said "mom you're right, you shouldn't gamble, but when I get older I will". So much for my ability to teach him right from wrong.

Then on Sunday night I was getting Owen ready for bed. He had been able to stay up past bedtime to watch cartoons as a privilege. For some reason when he gets a special privilege he tends to act up more. He is more hyper and has the most trouble listening. Sunday night was no different. He was showing off, not listening, and basically just getting on my nerves. I decided to talk to him about his behavior thinking I could make him understand that mommy and daddy like to give him special privileges, but that we expect him to behave too or we will not want to allow special privileges. I was doing my best to explain it in terms he could understand and then I found myself using an age old parenting phrase "Owen, it's like we give you an inch and you take a mile" to which he replied "yeah, I'm a kid!" I had nothing left to say.