All Things Tiny and Mighty

Ever have one of those days when your little people (mine are 4 and 6 years old) just cannot hear you? We now have the perfect term for this phenomenon: Broken Record Syndrome. Definition? When a parent realizes they have used the same phrase over and over so many times that it becomes comical, and yet, the child(ren) is so engaged in goofiness or misbehavior that they absolutely do not hear the parent’s voice skipping over the grooves of that record for the 100th time! Example from our day at the beach whilst my son was extremely focused on engineering the world’s deepest EVER sinkhole: “Ethan, look out, buddy, you’re flinging sand and almost hitting those people.” Child looks up at me with what seems like acknowledging knowing. Two seconds later… “Ethan, honey, you’re almost hitting that little boy with sand. Please, be more aware of what you’re doing.” Child looks as if has heard me, and continues digging with absolute joy. A few minutes later… “E! You just flung wet sand all over your sister. Look out.” Child notices with little change in facial expression that wet, gooey mud is now stuck to his sister’s arms and all over her rash guard, then goes back to digging largest sinkhole EVER. Less than a few minutes later… “Okay, Ethan… look! Buddy… hey… buddy? Ethan?” Little boy looks up at me with glazed over eyes – he is SO into his engineering project to reach middle earth – what CAN his mother want NOW????! 

Yes, this is “Broken Record Syndrome” and we definitely have it. The best I could do was laugh with my husband and realize that if our little boy was, indeed, THAT focused on the sinkhole, that his focus once school starts in one more week just might be close to absolutely amazing once he finds a subject he loves!