Young children can be brutally honest. I just heard my three year old Nephew say to his Father, “Go home. I want to be with Lisa. I don’t like you.” I can imagine how much it would hurt to have your Son say this.

I do not always approve of his Father’s parenting. My Nephew had a phase were he was asking everyone, “Am I a bad boy?” About a week ago, I caught his Father calling him a bad boy for not eating. At this point his Father wanted me to join in. He asked me, “Is (name) a bad boy?” I said, “He is not a bad boy. He just needs to eat.”

It is easy to criticize parenting, and I really shouldn’t. I haven’t been the perfect babysitter at times, too. Parenting is hard.

Every time his Father comes my Nephew hides. (He just hid behind my chair and whispered to me, “Be quiet. Don’t tell. Like a ninja. I want him to go home.”) This is likely because his Father is a little more harsh. He doesn’t give in to crying as much.

Children are just so honest with their feelings at age three. They don’t realize how much their words can hurt.