Everyone once in a while, six year old Johnny tries to see if I'll give him permission to say the forbidden words. A few months ago, he asked if he could say the "F" word out loud to me so he would know if he was saying it correctly, and then be able to successfully avoid saying it.
Tonight, driving to the social worker, it became clear that he was worried his older brother might also fall into the same trap.
Johnny: "Mom! Someone wrote the B word on the bus! But you know what? They spelled it wrong! They didn't spell it with the "t" in it, is was just spelled with the "ch" after the 'i'! But I KNEW what the word was. Do you know what it is Mom?"
Me: "I do know what the word is, Johnny."
James: "Can you stop talking now? You're bothering me! I don't even know what you're talking about."
Johnny: "Mom! JAMES DOESN"T EVEN KNOW! Can I explain to him that it is the bad word that starts with the "B" but it has an "i" and a "t" and THEN the "ch"? Just so he knows what the word is?"
Silent pause in the car...
"Mom? is it OK if I explain that to James so he knows?"
Then a little more quietly: "Oh. I just did, didn't I?"
