Braving Boys

Danny

Danny is obsessed with numbers lately. Ages are big — “Mom, how old were you when I was 2?” he might ask. Or “Dad, how old will you be when I’m 19?” We’re trying to teach him that I’m 33 years older than him and that John is 35 years older. That way, he can answer his own questions. It’ll take some time, though — he’s only 6, after all.

The numbers on nutritional labels are another story — he’s way more interested in them, and he can pretty much compare, contrast and make important decisions all by himself. Case in point: Yesterday.

Danny came out of school yesterday afternoon and announced that he chose white milk instead of chocolate milk at lunch. “That’s great,” I told him. “White milk is healthier.” He agreed, schooling me on the fact that chocolate milk has 25 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein, while white milk has 10 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein. And that’s why he chose white over chocolate — it’s healthier.

I did a little fact checking just now, and sure enough, Danny was pretty right on. Check out chocolate milk here at The Daily Plate. And white milk here. The guy knows his stuff. And if he keeps making solid choices like the one he made today, I’m thinking he’ll live a long and healthy life.

And if he makes it to, say, 85, how old will I be?

Uugh.

Nothing but normal

I’m pretty sure my boys are normal — on most days. Then there are times when I am convinced they are way off kilter and need massive therapy. I mean, is it OK for a 6-year-old boy to pinch another child at school, pull his brother’s hair in the car and cry buckets of tears when he loses at family game night? Friends swear it’s right on target, and an assistant principal tells me it’s what first-grade boys do. But when this “hypothetical” boy has never before pinched, pulled hair or broken down so easily — not even as a toddler — it strikes me that something might be wrong, that something is luring him back into little-kid land.

“Six-year-olds have a firm foot planted in toddlerhood,” a child psychologist once told me. I need to remember that. I also need to keep checking in with research about ages and stages of development, because it’s terrifically reassuring. One quick Google search, and I learned that “Six” is growing more independent, yet feeling less secure, he craves affection from parents and teachers, can be unkind to peers, needs to win and has no problem blatantly cheating or changing the rules, can be hurt by criticism, and BINGO: 6-year-old kids often cry easily.

That’s my boy, who happens to be quite fidgety, too (also characteristic of the age) and, much to my relief …

Normal.