You know how you have that friend that is always brutally honest with you when you need it. She tells you if you look fat in your new jeans. She will call you out if you were the one who was in the wrong in your big fight with your husband. She is a straight shooter when you need it. I have one of those friends. She is my 3 year old daughter.
She does not sugar coat for my feelings.
“Mama, you have a fat belly.”
That means it is time to do crunches.
“Mama, your breath is so stinky.”
I have got to lay off the coffee.
Kids are honest. Sometimes that honesty is brutal, but they call them like they see them. The other day she said something to me that I was not expecting.
“Mama, I noticed you are cranky a lot. That is not OK.”
Out of the mouth of babes folks. Having your child make a statement like that is eye opening. She was not lying. I have been dealing with some difficult issues lately and I guess I have not exactly been a ball of sunshine, but I thought that I was putting on a happy face for my munchkin. Children of course are much more perceptive than we think. There is not much that you can get past them. Mommy has been cranky a lot lately baby & you are right that is not OK.
Thank you for being that honest voice in my head. Whether you are calling me out for breaking one of my own rules or telling me that I am the best mama in the world, you make me want to be better. Keep telling it like it is.
The Pinterested Parent 
Mine are the same way and whatever is on their mind, they just blurt it out. Has done wonders for my self-esteem – not!! 😉
Lol! Yeah, it is not always the best stuff, but sometimes it is what you need to hear.
A moment if you please… When I was in that awkward body phase after I had my second daughter, my eldest (5) was with me in the dressing room while I tried on some new jeans that were somewhere in between maternity and my old skinny jeans. She turned from making faces at herself long enough to slap my belly as she said, “fat-belly fat-belly” and giggle as she watched my postpartum jelly jiggle.
As a lump rose in my throat and tears stung my eyes, I took a breath and realized that I had an opportunity to instil in her a more positive body image and healthy outlook than I was provided with at her age.
I smiled through it and simply said, “yup, that’s what happens when you have a baby. I’m still beautiful, and all I need to do now is exercise and eat healthy foods and my flappy belly will go away over time.”
She smiled up at me and said, “yeah, exercise! It’s not that big anyways, I bet it will go away fast!”
Mission accomplished!
Thanks for your story! It will inspire me to write about my honest booger-eater in my next blog post!
Yeah, they just come right out and say it. We also had to have the talk many times as she often would comment on strangers in public. I look forward to reading your post.
My son is the same – don’t mind him calling me out (although there’s also many a time where he’s also gone “mummy you look gorgeous”) but it’s embarrassing when he tries to lecture strangers on smoking or announces to the shopping centre “that man has a big tummy”.
I completely agree… Kids are honest enough to say the truth… They hardly get effected by the fact of your liking or disliking their statement.