The other night while I was giving my oldest son (who is now 4) a bath, we were talking about his day.

At first it was the usual: “I slept until 7-oh-oh!”, “played with my whales” (he loves sea animals), “played with [insert name here]”, etc.. Then he said something that shocked me.. “I called Ryan ’stupid’ (giggle)”. Ryan is his 1½ year old brother.

Where on earth did my son learn to call someone ’stupid’? Sure, I grew up on the east coast and have a bit of a twisted sense of humor, but I make a very cognizant effort around my children to be a good example to them and act in a way that sets a good example (I wait to potty talk until after they’re asleep ). I prodded a bit and he said ‘at school’.

After changing to my serious dad tone, I asked him if he knew what stupid meant, which he didn’t, and explained how painful words can be and that they can hurt people’s feelings, etc., I could tell by the look on his face that he understood that it wasn’t okay. While I didn’t dwell on it for long (you can’t with kids), I think I got a point across.

When I look back (baby lessons: vomit, sleep, manipulation, laughing, bag balm, etc), all of those things seem easy now compared to the challenges of what lies ahead.