dinner at club penguin
I had dinner with an eight year old last night. It was fun. We had spagget and I got a complete tour of Club Penguin. Club Penguin, if you are eight, is nifty. Hell, I thought it was nifty and I am way over eight. These penguins have outfits. Stereos. Couches. Jack hammers. [The cool penguin thing to do is grab your jackhammer and go jackhammer on the north west corner of the secret glacier.] These penguins have the works.
I have not been around kids much recently. Once a year when I visit my aunt at Christmast time. The rest of the year? Not so much. So I am saying something to an adult as an aside and a word slams out of my mouth and the censor in my head sets off screaming red alert alarms because, oh wow, that is not a word you say in front of a kid.
It was not even that bad a word but it is something I would not have said in front of a kid if I had had the kid censor on. Which I didn’t. I am out of practice.
I do not think the kid even heard it.
I did.
17 Responses to dinner at club penguin
It happens to the best of us – not having that kid censor on.
Hell, it happens even when you have the kids underfoot constantly and should be in ‘constant kid censor mode’ so no worries. I think the occasional hearing of a curse word isn’t what scars kids–it’s the repetitive use, particularly in anger directed at them. That, they don’t usually rebound from. Plus, if they see an adult make an mistake and realize the mistake and try not to do it again? That is a positive reinforcement that hey, we sometimes screw up but we try to do our best.
Max, my husband and I slip up in front of the kids with all sorts of not ideal language. I pray daily that they don’t say these words in school. I fear those teachers more than anyone.
But in New York City they hear stuff on the street. My angelic looking blond 8-yar-old boy said while playing Stratego, “I’m going to fuck you up!” with a big smile. No idea what he’d said, really. Yikes. I’m guilty of many bad words and phrases, but not that one!
I think part of the reason I’m the favourite aunt is that my kid filter never really worked. My younger neph asked me when he was very little why adults say potty-mouth words so much. I told him that sometimes, things are SO frustrating, you can’t really grasp the situation without them. (I used the example of him fighting with his older brother.) And then I said, “And sometimes? Sometimes it’s just fucking funny.” He laughed. He got it.
Of course, the other reason I’m the favourite aunt is that their other aunt is boring and lame and she sucks. And I offer them beer.
Shut up.
You would be my favorite aunt too, Ms. Pants.
I need to stop with the beer thing. I did it as a joke from about… oh birth. But last year while we were floating the river, I asked the older of the two (14) to hold my beer while I manuvered around in my tube (floating is serious bidness) and the little shit sucked down half of it in one quick glug. It’s the first time he’s actively partaken. (He stuck a finger in my Guinness once and licked it, but he hated that.) I was gobsmacked. He handed it back and said “That stuff’s good.” (Shiner Bock–aww, Texas boy.) He also tried to “hold my beer” while we were eating lunch. Okay, so I’m kinda proud. But also like–STOP with the GROWING already!!
My goal is to be the one that they can come to for anything. Wanna ask questions about drugs? Sure, I’ll tell you what I know and I won’t sugar coat it but I won’t lie either. I didn’t have that and instead went on a rather large tear in college when I realised that Nancy Regan was a liarliarpantsonfire. I’d rather these two go on an educated tear and not be afraid to call up Auntie Pants when they’re bombed at the amusement park and no one can drive home.
My philosophy is “your kid, your answers.” There is no way I would get in the middle of sex/alcohol/drugs subjects with someone else’s child. You want to know how to get Word to stop eating your homework or how to make that super soaker shoot further? I am your go to adult. Sex? Drugs? Alcohol? Miss Max missed that on the midterm go talk to your parents.
I’m a lurker…this is my first time commenting. I have 3 children and I have ALWAYS had a hard time watching my language. At age 2, my middle sone would blurt out, “SHIT!” because at the time, I couldn’t seem to extract that word from my vocaulary. At age 5, I was taking him to school one morning…as we’re passing the Staples Center, he noticed they were changing the mural that sits on the corner of Figueroa and Olympic. We’re sitting at the light and he asks, “Mommy, what the HELL is that?” My first reaction was to laugh (because the shit was funny as hell), but I turned around and sternly said, “THAT’S A GROWN UP WORD! You’re not supposed to say things like that!!” He seemed deflated, but inside I was cracking up because I knew where he got it from and I couldn’t even be mad about it.
These days he’s the language police. He’s 6 now and will ALWAYS call me out if he hears a bad word (that includes words like STUPID, HELL, DAMN, IDIOT, ASS and SHUT UP). And trust me…when you have your own kids, sometimes it’s just hard to turn them off…nobody will fault you for being YOU!
Oh yeah, I checked out Club Penguin! I’m going to have to share this with my kids! They’re gonna love it!
My brother and I are pretty tight in that arena. The kids’ mother never really dabbled. (She decided to be the town bike instead.) My brother was a meth head in high school. I’ve asked him if he’s cool with my honesty and he said he is–just not to actually condone the drug use, which I wouldn’t with the nephs. My bro hid all his vices but mine all started in college so I never hid them–the family knows all about it and no one cares. I don’t know how I’d feel about sex–I think I’d rather them talk to their parents about that. More than likely, the nephs would come to me or my parents (their grands) for any straight talk. They’ve always said that they like that me and the ‘rents talk to them like regular people rather than kids.
Well really there should be a care package for young boys. It could just contain a box of condoms, a sheet of directions, a bannana, and a year’s supply of National Geographic and they would be all set, wouldn’t they?
[Phoenix, I think when all the kids are in bed all the parents play in Club Penguin on the sly.]
There is an article about Club Penguin in this month’s Wired. Check it out! It is really cute!
BTW, check out the version for adults – Second Life. Lotsa fun!
My big concern lately is lots of Club Penguin searches showing up. I hope those are not kids. This blog is too grown up for kids.
No doubt. And hopefully they don’t click on your links!
Well yeah. I do not think of this place as adult adult, but it is still a little risque for little kids.
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