My 3-year-old son Bode has the answer to every single person’s relationship drama.
Whenever someone (OK, mostly his sister Hadley) ticks him off, like clockwork Bode chimes in: “I don’t wike dat.”
Which, in Bode speak, loosely means “GET THE CRAP OUT OF MY FACE AND STOP BUGGING ME.”
I really didn’t think anything of it until my parent-teacher conference with his preschool teachers. They mentioned they have been instructing the children how to voice their discontent instead of just physically lashing out. They said Bode in particular is very good about telling people exactly what he is thinking.
Not surprising with a mother like me.
“I don’t like that” has become a staple of our everyday life. My children and I were recently in Canada for 12 days, during which time my husband Jamie had some difficulty getting along with our new kitty.
And remembering to feed him. Remy the Fat Cat came out of the whole experience a few pounds lighter.
The crux of the problem, however, is that Remy is a snuggler. Jamie does not like anyone touching him while he sleeps. And evidently my dear husband also doesn’t like getting jumped on in the middle of the night.
At least not by the cat. He has been begging me to do it for years.
Jamie told me one night he got so fed up with Remy that he wouldn’t allow him to sleep in the bedroom. When I told the kids this, you’d think I had told them Daddy had roasted the cat like a pig on a spit. Bode prayed for “Daddy to say sorry to Remy” and that night, Bode gave him a piece of his mind when they talked on the phone.
I heard Jamie defending himself, explaining that Remy wakes him up by jumping on him in the middle of the night. Bode thoughtfully listened and the tone of the conversation changed.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Bode?”
“Just tell Remy: ‘I DON’T WIKE DAT.’”
Dr. Phil in the making.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 