Car Chats

'Do you know what I'm good at Mummy?'


This was shouted by one of my sons from the back of the car.


'What?'


He proceeded to rhyme all sorts of things off.


I'm really good at drawing dragons.
I'm good at fist-passing a ball but not at catching it.
Oh and I'm good at grating cheese. And you know when you press those wee bits on your ears in and out, it sounds like the seaside? I'm very good at doing that.
And you said I was good at building megazords and I really am.
I'm good at swishing mouthwash.
I'm really good at Harry Potter spells.


The list went on until the car stopped. No he's not what you'd call modest is he?


I often find driving along in the car is when I've had some of the funniest and memorable chats with my children.
It becomes a bit of a therapy couch for them. They're strapped in and can't run around or do much for the duration of the journey, so they start to wireless away.


In a house with 5 children it goes without saying that it's difficult to give them constant individual attention. So if I'm doing a run somewhere in the car I'll usually say, 'who's coming with me?'
Then I get to chat to one of them on their own. Of course they only agree to come on the chance they might get a packet of sweets.


Sometimes they suddenly blurt out something that has been niggling at them for a few days. It's not that they've been keeping quiet about it, they just don't take time to stop and single out what it is that's bothering them.
Then when they're sat there, they've time to think and out it comes.


There have been times as well when I've almost crashed the car listening to them.
For example,


C, age 7 in a very shocked voice proceeded to tell us one day that a boy in his class said a bad word.


'What was it?' asked his older brother.
'He said the (pause for dramatic effect) f word' he very piously replied.


To which from the back N, age 4 said,
'oh is that all? I thought he'd said fuck!'


Sometimes it is difficult to concentrate on the road you know.

They don't normally look this glum, they're just raging they are going to Ikea.

I am linking this to The Things They Say and Do over at Thinly Spread. Head over there now for a giggle at the rest of the entries.