The Nonlinear Library LW - Text Posts from the Kids Group: 2020 by jefftk
Apr 14, 2024
28:25
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Text Posts from the Kids Group: 2020, published by jefftk on April 14, 2024 on LessWrong.
Another round of liberating kid posts from Facebook. For reference, in 2020 Lily turned 6 and Anna turned 4.
(Some of these were from me; some were from Julia. Ones saying "me" could mean either of us.)
We went to the movies, and brought our own popcorn. When I passed the popcorn to Lily during the movie she was indignant, saying that we weren't supposed to bring in our own food. She ate one piece, but then said it wasn't ok and wouldn't eat more.
When the movie ended, Lily wanted us to tell the people at the concession stand and apologize: "Tell them! *Tell* them." She started trying to bargain with Julia: "I'll give you a penny if you tell them. Two pennies! Three pennies, *Five* pennies!"
But then we were outside and she was excitedly pretending to be Elsa, running down the sidewalk without a coat.
I left for a trip on Tuesday afternoon, and beforehand Lily had asked me to give her one hour's notice before I left. I told her it would be about an hour from when she got home from school, but I forgot to give her warning at the actual one-hour mark. When I came up to read and cuddle with the kids 20 minutes before I left, she was angry that I hadn't given her enough notice. Then she went off and did something with paper, which I thought was sulking.
I tried to persuade her to come sit on the couch with Anna and me and enjoy the time together, but she wouldn't.
Turns out she was making a picture and had wanted enough notice to finish it before I left. It is of her, Anna, and Jeff "so you won't forget us while you're gone." I assured her I will definitely not forget them, but that this was a very nice thing to be able to bring with me.
Anna: "I will buy a baby at the baby store when I am a grownup, and I will be a mama like you! And I will work at Google and have the same job as my dad."
Pretty sure the kids don't think I have a real job. To be fair Google has much better food.
This was the first I had heard of the baby store. We'll see how that pans out for her.
Me: Before you were born we thought about what to name you, and we thought Anna would be a good name. Do you think that's a good name?
Anna: No. I want to be named Bourbon.
Anna: We're not going outside when we get Lily.
Me: How are we going to pick up Lily from school without going outside?
Anna: You can order her.
Me: Order her?
Anna: You will order her on your phone.
Sorry, Amazon is not yet offering same-day delivery of kindergarteners from school.
Lily backstage watching her dad play BIDA: she grabbed handfuls of the air, saying "I want to put the sound in my pocket."
Lily: "repeat after me, 'I, Anna, won't do the terrible deed ever again'"
"Papa, I'm sleepy and want to sleep *now*. Can you use the potty for me?"
I let Anna try chewing gum for the first time. She knew she was supposed to just chew it and not swallow it. Her method was to make tiny dents in it with her teeth and barely put it in her mouth at all.
I'd been meaning to try the marshmallow test on the kids for a while, but today Lily described it at dinner. ("From my science podcast, of course.")
Lily's past the age of the children in the original studies, but Anna's well within the range. They both happily played for 15 minutes, didn't eat the candy, and got more candy at the end. Unanticipated bonus for the researcher: 15 minutes of the children playing quietly in separate rooms.
Lily requesting a bedtime song: I want a song about a leprechaun and a dog, and the leprechaun asks the dog to help get a pot of gold, but the dog tricks the leprechaun and runs away with the pot of gold.
Me: That's too complicated for me. It's after bedtime.
Lily: The leprechaun and the dog just get the pot of gold, and the dog takes it.
Me: [singing] Once there was a leprecha...
Another round of liberating kid posts from Facebook. For reference, in 2020 Lily turned 6 and Anna turned 4.
(Some of these were from me; some were from Julia. Ones saying "me" could mean either of us.)
We went to the movies, and brought our own popcorn. When I passed the popcorn to Lily during the movie she was indignant, saying that we weren't supposed to bring in our own food. She ate one piece, but then said it wasn't ok and wouldn't eat more.
When the movie ended, Lily wanted us to tell the people at the concession stand and apologize: "Tell them! *Tell* them." She started trying to bargain with Julia: "I'll give you a penny if you tell them. Two pennies! Three pennies, *Five* pennies!"
But then we were outside and she was excitedly pretending to be Elsa, running down the sidewalk without a coat.
I left for a trip on Tuesday afternoon, and beforehand Lily had asked me to give her one hour's notice before I left. I told her it would be about an hour from when she got home from school, but I forgot to give her warning at the actual one-hour mark. When I came up to read and cuddle with the kids 20 minutes before I left, she was angry that I hadn't given her enough notice. Then she went off and did something with paper, which I thought was sulking.
I tried to persuade her to come sit on the couch with Anna and me and enjoy the time together, but she wouldn't.
Turns out she was making a picture and had wanted enough notice to finish it before I left. It is of her, Anna, and Jeff "so you won't forget us while you're gone." I assured her I will definitely not forget them, but that this was a very nice thing to be able to bring with me.
Anna: "I will buy a baby at the baby store when I am a grownup, and I will be a mama like you! And I will work at Google and have the same job as my dad."
Pretty sure the kids don't think I have a real job. To be fair Google has much better food.
This was the first I had heard of the baby store. We'll see how that pans out for her.
Me: Before you were born we thought about what to name you, and we thought Anna would be a good name. Do you think that's a good name?
Anna: No. I want to be named Bourbon.
Anna: We're not going outside when we get Lily.
Me: How are we going to pick up Lily from school without going outside?
Anna: You can order her.
Me: Order her?
Anna: You will order her on your phone.
Sorry, Amazon is not yet offering same-day delivery of kindergarteners from school.
Lily backstage watching her dad play BIDA: she grabbed handfuls of the air, saying "I want to put the sound in my pocket."
Lily: "repeat after me, 'I, Anna, won't do the terrible deed ever again'"
"Papa, I'm sleepy and want to sleep *now*. Can you use the potty for me?"
I let Anna try chewing gum for the first time. She knew she was supposed to just chew it and not swallow it. Her method was to make tiny dents in it with her teeth and barely put it in her mouth at all.
I'd been meaning to try the marshmallow test on the kids for a while, but today Lily described it at dinner. ("From my science podcast, of course.")
Lily's past the age of the children in the original studies, but Anna's well within the range. They both happily played for 15 minutes, didn't eat the candy, and got more candy at the end. Unanticipated bonus for the researcher: 15 minutes of the children playing quietly in separate rooms.
Lily requesting a bedtime song: I want a song about a leprechaun and a dog, and the leprechaun asks the dog to help get a pot of gold, but the dog tricks the leprechaun and runs away with the pot of gold.
Me: That's too complicated for me. It's after bedtime.
Lily: The leprechaun and the dog just get the pot of gold, and the dog takes it.
Me: [singing] Once there was a leprecha...