Last night Louise got in trouble for hitting Emily. Actually, the hitting occurred around snacktime, but we saved the punishment for when Alan got home. I told her that she would have to fess up to Daddy when he came home, and that was enough to make her upset. Once he got here, she hemmed and hawed (if one can picture Louise doing such a thing?) and danced around the issue..... I left the room and hung by the corner to see how the conversation would go.....
"Do you have something you want to tell me, Louise?"
"Yes... I can't remember... did I hit Emily or did Emily hit me?"
"Be very careful what you say to me, Louise, I will be much more angry if you lie. What happened?"
"I can't remember.... I think Emily hit..... no, wait, I hit Emily."
"Do you think hitting is nice or mean?"
"Mean.... and a little bit nice."
"Why is it mean?"
"It hurts people."
"Mmm-hmmm... and why is it nice?"
silence
"well, I don't really know why it's nice."
"So, it's mean then, right?"
"Well, it's mostly mean.... but a little bit nice."
"Wait, I thought we couldn't think of the nice part."
"Oh, okay, then... it's mean."
I think he was so stunned he forgot to punish her!
