This morning Bennett, Chloe and I were walking through a field filled with dandelions and clover on our way back from a park. Instinctively, Bennett reached down and picked up the dandelion. And just as instinctively and quickly I said, "Bennett DO NOT eat that dandelion." Do normal people tell their children this? Should that have been the first words out of my mouth? Why did I know my son wanted to eat the dandelion? Call it intuition. Call it past experience. Just call it Bennett. This is how he rolls.
"Awww Mom. Why not? They're good."
See. I just knew that's what he was going to do. "Honey. I don't take issue with you wanting to eat a dandelion [parental note: you've got to pick your battles]. What I take issue with is that this particular one is in a random field. Do you know how many dogs might have peed on it? Or how many soles of shoes have tramped across it?" See...quick thinking on my feet (something I'm not typically known for). Afterall, this is a health and safety issue. I continue with, "Honey, you can eat all the dandelions in our backyard if you want...just not out in public."
I think he appreciated my line of reasoning.
