Do misunderstandings with kids ever surprise you? Delight you?
For instance, about a week ago, this conversation took place between my six-year-old grandson, Grasshopper, and his dad:
Grasshopper: Tobacco is free at my school.
His father: No son, your school is a “tobacco-free zone.”
Photo courtesy of christels at Pixabay
Of course, me being Grammy, I got a good chuckle out of that.
Here’s a story my cousin MaryAnn shared on Facebook:
So we’re on our way to get the boys haircuts and Chase says, “I think I’m gonna get a 3 on the sides this time.”
I said, “ No, you’re not,” and he said, “Why?”
I’m like, “You’re not doing that. Dad will kill you.” I’m thinking, what the heck is this? The new thing now is these kids getting 3’s shaved on their heads!? What the heck does that mean?
Then he says, “Why? The 4 is too short.”
Now I’m like thinking, what? Then I quickly realized he meant the #3 clipper!
Image courtesy of Mohamed Hassan at Pixabay
I’ve had plenty of those kind of conversations myself, MaryAnn. I’m not good at keeping up with the ever-changing lingo and styles of younger generations.
Many years ago, my nephew Casey brought his finance Shannon over to visit us. I enjoyed chatting with her because I’d only met her once before that.
At one point, I asked how her mom and brothers were doing.
She said they were good, then told me her brother John was thinking about getting dreadlocks.
Me: “Oh. Are those some kind of fancy hub caps?”
“No.” She laughed. “It’s a hairstyle.”
My bad.
These are dreadlocks:
Image: Courtesy of AstralniHorizonti at Pixabay
This is a hub cap:
Photo: Courtesy of Pixabay
I think “dreadlocks” should be a type of hub cap, though. It’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
Conversation while driving in the car when oldest daughter was in her early 20’s:
Daughter: I went to Jackie’s last night and I was yakking and yakking.
Me: Oh yeah? What were you yakking about?
Daughter (Laughing): No, not talking. “Yakking” means throwing up.
Me: Ew!
Image: Courtesy of Pixabay
Here’s another misunderstanding that happened about ten years ago while walking in the sand with middle daughter at Huntington Beach:
Daughter: Mom, your top looks sick.
Me (slumping): It does? What’s wrong with it?
Daughter: No, Mom, “sick” means “nice.” Your top looks good.
Me (smiling): Oh, thanks!
Clueless
I’m not sure what “the latest” slang terms are. Not sure I want to know!
What are your thoughts? Do you keep up with current lingo? Had any funny misunderstandings that made you chuckle? Do you have any comical or sweet parenting or grand parenting stories to share? How about mischievous adventures you, yourself, got into when you were a kid?
I’d love to hear from you.
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Thanks for stopping by!
Knew the terms although I would’ve thought talking before barfing though.
You’re better than I am in keeping up with the latest stuff. Thanks for stopping by, Alex!
Love the first pics, Lynn! Great stories.
My nephew, Si, and his wife came to visit us all on Boxing Day. In the evening when it was finally just us adults and we were sitting down to have a drink, Si said, “I expect the Snorlax will be visiting you soon.” He looked at me expectantly, and I stared back blankly, thinking, what is a Snorlax? Then he said a couple more things re Snorlax coming by for me, and I kept staring at him thinking, is someone going to explain or do I have to reveal I have no clue what he’s talking about? We had these really funny moments of staring at one another in silence. About an hour later, I went to bed, none the wiser. Wasn’t till the next day, I found out a Snorlax is a pokemon that sleeps all the time!! Doh!
I’d never heard of a Snorlax either, Yvette. Sounds like something from a Dr. Seuss book. So funny that he kept talking about it and I can visualize those awkward moments of silence. LOL! Thanks for sharing your funny story with me. I love it!
Those are some really funny stories…not sure why the word “sick” was ever a good choice as a substitute for something positive. Just doesn’t make sense :/
Hi Pambelina. I’m glad you got a kick out of the funny stories. Who knows how or why slang terms are picked. I don’t think “making sense” goes into any of them! Haha! Thanks for stopping in.