One of the most important jobs of a parent is to teach their children to think. Many  parents are confused about this and believe this means you are to teach them to think just like you do. They are wrong.  You find this mindset amongst people who send their kids to Bob Jones University or are militant vegetarians.  Fortunately it usually backfires on them and the children rebel by getting more piercings than a pin-cusion, dating the drummer for Rob Zombie or opening  a steakhouse.

I've always tried to give my children freedom of thought.  I've encouraged them to explore and observe the world around them. I've allowed them to make up their own minds about pop culture, religion, politics, ethics and what kind of breakfast cereal they eat.

This is the right thing to do. I am convinced. But sometimes I have to wonder if those pepople with the BJU  alumni children  know something I don't.  Especially when I start eavesdropping on the kids. Don't make that face, parents always eavesdrop. How else are you going to really know what goes on in that kid world of theirs? Okay, so I could ask. However, that wouldn't be nearly as much fun. 

 For example, a few of my children once got into a discussion about whether killing my clone would be the same as killing me.  Schuyler, Zane and Tim maintained that it wouldn't be since a clone was obviously not me. Pierce who was a bit younger and I think a little horrified by the very concept maintained that it would be.

"Yes it would. It would be just like mom! It's a clone it would be the same physically."

"That doesn't make it the same. It wouldn't have mom's memories so it would just look the same."

 "Doesn't matter."

"Does too...okay so what if it was an evil clone? Could we kill it then?"

"How evil?"

"Really evil. Monica evil." (Monica is a little girl that has picked on them for years. I think she has a crush on Schuyler.)

"Well...okay. But how could you tell which one was the clone?"

This made them pause. How could you tell? Everyone knows that if you ask the evil clone if it is the evil clone it will tell you it is not. Evil clones always lie. Then Pierce had a eureka moment.

"I know!  The clone wouldn't have any stretchmarks! If we checked that we would know which one to kill!"

Alrighty then.  

It isn't just my clone that falls victim to the freedom to think either. They use it on each other.  Zane, in particular, gets out thought by Schuyler. For example, Zane really liked the show Charmed. Don't ask me why. I don't know. Zane also would invariably pick Raisin Bran when it was his turn to pick the cereal. Much to the other childrens' dismay. He didn't care about toys and cartoon brand mascots. He just liked Raisin Bran. The child is pretty much immune to culture spawned gender messages and all advertising. I can't take credit for it. Wish I could.

At any rate, I was allowing Zane to watch a Charmed marathon in the livingroom which was irritating the other children who don't like Charmed.  After a couple of hours Schuyler wanders in and tells him, "This is a chick show."

Zane of course got very indignant about that and swore it was not.

"It is just a show. There is no such thing as a chick show."

"Is too. Do you pay attention to the commercials? They are chick commercials."

"They are not!"

"Yes they are."

"No, they aren't! They are just commercials."

Schuyler cocks an eyebrow and asks "Oh, so you have had that not so fresh feeling? "

At which point Zane went into evil squint mode and refused to engage further.

I thought that was pretty funny. Zane didn't.  

I'm not even sure which children were involved in this next one or what exactly it was they were doing. I heard Indistinct muttering with a reasonable tone

Mumble, mumble, mumble...voice goes up "Why not?!?"

Audible outraged response

"Because you are prey! Prey doesn't get to negotiate with the predator!" 

I hope I haven't screwed up here. The world may not be ready for my clone murdering, media savvy, surrealist kids. Oh well, at least they won't date the drummer from Rob Zombie. I hope.