I can't remember when it was when I figured out Santa wasn't real, but I do remember asking my older brothers a series of questions. "How long have you known?", "Is this a joke?", and my personal favorite "Wait.... what?"

I remember wanting to "trap" the Easter bunny so I could steal his candy, but that didn't really work out well either.

Here is another one from my baby ( he's now in high school ) pre-school days.

His father and I schedule our family physican follow-up appointments at the same time and on one of the evening visits we had baby boy with us [he was going on 4 at the time]. Our physican is just like family and we do get a little chatty during evening appointments. Hours pass by like minutes to my spouse and I, everytime we visit together.

Well ~~~ there was this one visit at the end of our physicans day and after she concluded our follow-up exam, we were having a good time conversating. Baby was getting antsy. He had been with us for over three hours; his dad and I did not move fast enough exiting our conversation, when baby started repeating a word I thought was "ship" ~~ our physican asked, "Is he using a bad word?" I explained, baby is ready to go and he's trying to motivate me and daddy to get moving by repeating "ship". Our doctor, smiled and rebutted, it does not sound like ship ~ whose bad word is he repeating? Both of us listened as baby again repeated the word "sh*t"

My spouse and I looked at each other in embarassment for we both loosely used the term when frustrated, disappointed, ... Both my spouse mother and mine are "Mother of the Church" and also use the term ~ not as loosely as my spouse and I; however, baby have also heard them use it.

I had to own up to our physician, while my spouse held his hand over his mouth; then turned to baby boy and said, "Sweetheart that is a ugly word, we have to talk about it when we get home." Baby responded, yes ma'am; daddy and I swifly ended our conversation after that.

After getting home; I did have the talk with baby, his general instructions was:

* not to use that word around people older than him and not at the nursery

~~~~~~~~~~~

When baby arrived, 10 years had past since my last baby and 21 years had past since my spouse's last baby; thus, collectively from experience: once a child learn bad words ~ it is best not to demand they never use them ~ it is better to restrict where they use them