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What do you say to your 5-year-old when she, very seriously, tells you…

“I think, I’m gonna tell G that I love him.”

Here’s what I wanted to say.

“Girls don’t tell boys they love him. Not until you hear them say it first…. What if all he says back is “Thank you.” Are you prepared for that? Or are you expecting him to say, “I love you, too.”  Do you really LOVE him? Or are you just very attracted to him?”

But, then, shouldn’t we be having this conversation, at least, 10 years from now?

What I did say (which I’m not really proud of)…

“No, don’t tell him.”

What would you have done?

While working out at our local gym this morning, I happened to glance up and caught Today Show’s Ann Curry’s interview with the Barretts and their 17-month-old daughter, Elizabeth, who can read. Amazing!

Aside from being astounded by the little girl’s ability, one other thing that gave me pause was the reason why the parents decided to go public — they said that they are reaching out to people about what to do next for Elizabeth, they wanted to reach out to experts who could help them deal with her abilities.

What would I do if Elizabeth were my kid?

I probably would not have made it into a media event.  Even the Barrets acknowledge that their child is different and may have a difficult time growing up, why add to it by putting her into the national limelight?

I would have have nurtured the ability, as she grows, expose her to all kinds of books— math, science, philosophy, get her to the library, let her decide what she would want to learn.  Then, at the same time, taking care to challenge her in other ways— gymnastics, swimming, karate, etc.  Also, I would make sure that she gets to socialize with other kids.

What would you do?

Its about how shoes “accidentally” drop off from her feet when she gets in the car.  Every time.  As soon as she is strapped in her car seat, whatever shoes (sandals, crocs, tennis shoes…) she’s wearing? They  drop to the floor.

Dad insists that Mary takes them off deliberately and should just stop doing it.  Mary insists that the shoes just fall off by themselves.  Me, I don’t mind as long as Mary puts them back on, with minimum delay, as soon as we get to our destination (which she rarely does and becomes the bone of contention between us.)

Mary explained to me what happens.  We all know that she is a toe-walker — she stands, walks, runs on her tippy-toes about 90% of the time.  She said that, as soon as she sits on her car seat, her feet points straight downward and the shoes just fall off.  Sometimes, even her socks follow.  Hmmm…

Like I said and like I have told Mary, unlike her Dad who insists the she keeps her shoes on in the car, I do not mind.  As long as she gets them back on right away.

…We’re still working on that.