In case you can't read the above, it says:
My mom is 8 years old.
My mom is the prettiest when she takes a shower.
My mom likes to make everything that is good for me.
My mom always says, she doesn't tell me secrets.
My mom is funny when she does tricks.
This poster is one of my favorite projects that our four-year-old, Leo, did in preschool last year. His teachers asked the questions and wrote down his first response. It has hung prominently in our breakfast nook since Mother's Day and I don't know if I'll ever take it down.
There are two answers I especially love. First, the shower one. All of the other moms laughed when they read it, saying, "oh yes, me too, I went days without a shower when there was a baby in the house!" I chuckled along but silently was confused as I--shocker--manage to shower daily. Did Leo not notice? And so I asked him what he meant and he said, "oh momma, you look so pretty in the shower." All righty then. Guess it's time to be a bit more discreet!
Second, the "tell secrets" one. Years and years ago when I was a new mommy, I was practicing law and was sent to some training for victim advocates. One of the best pieces of advice I think I've ever heard came from a child abuse specialist talking to us about simple things we could do with children in our efforts to keep them safe: tell them that there are no such things as secrets in the house and that no one should ever ask them to keep a secret from their mommy or daddy. For birthdays and holiday fun, just use the word surprise (because eventually you reveal whatever the surprise is) but no secrets. I'm a big believer in the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so Leo's response makes me smile--he apparently "gets" this house rule.