EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
Editors Note
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As I recently leafed through a "Book of Kids Cartoons" compiled by the New Yorker, I noted that adult cartoonists/caption writers are clever. But they are not as sharp as children. I am convinced that life's most memorable moments actually occur as stated, written, or cartooned. (I love the book's cartoon of a car on a country road and a sign that reads: "Mom and Dad Really Lose It: 1/4 Mile"). This magazine knows about clever: We compile and publish in each issue the popular Who Said That!/Kid Quips, sent in by parents and uttered by children. This issue is our one-year anniversary of the department. The idea was twofold. First, I am familiar with the old Art Linkletter show about how "Kids Say the Darndest Things." And for years I have compiled a book of sayings from my three children. It's too thin, since I have left out and already forgotten far more wonderful word plays than jotted down. These days, I keep a keener ear for each bon mot because of this column. While the syntax and framing often may be off, the truth never is. For example, the other night I was talking to my 8-year-old about how scary it is to go to a new school where you don't know anyone. "But you made friends the very first day," I protested. "No," he said, "it took a week." A favorite in the more than 200 quips we have published in the two family magazines runs in this issue of Inland Empire Family Magazine: "On the ride home from picking up my preschooler, I asked her about her day. She excitedly said, 'We had doorbells for a snack.' After much drilling, I realized she meant Ding Dongs." From Jessica, 3, of Colton. In a recent meeting with emerging and published writers, I borrowed this: "While driving with my 4-year-old, she asked: 'Mommy, when my teeth fall out, do I have to catch them?'" From Madison, 4, of Riverside. The point I made was to write like a child and think like a child, so you can see moments as they may be, rather than how you've matured into believing what life must be. In other words, expand a contracted mind. That, in fact, is the wonder of what children say, because it's an understanding of how they think. And they think more like a sponge taking things in than the adult brain that acts like a broom, sweeping data and everyday assumptions into neatly assumed drawers. For those of you who participate with your children, there are monthly prizes, such as tickets to Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana or to Mighty Ducks games. Next January, we will sweeten the pot by announcing an overall winner from 2003, one from OC Family and one from Inland Empire Family. Grand prize: Tickets for four to Disneyland. We have heard and seen for years what adult athletes are coached to say when they win a championship: "We're going to Disneyland!" That's quaint, that's cute. I just wonder how a child might better frame the excitement of the moment. Tell you what: We'll ask the 2003 winners. |
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