Copy Cat

What do you do when your three-year-old is repeating everything for better or worse?

By Alaina Sheer

My son, Benjamin, is repeating everything I say. Not just the words; no, his evolving three-year-old mind is now reenacting moments from movies or our lives over and over and over again. It's a bit maddening but also quite hysterical, frightening and fascinating at the same time.



The best phrases always come after a visit with his father or grandmother. I'm convinced the two of them plot names to teach him in order to mess with my head.

1. Prince Charming

After a week with grandma and his father, Benjamin returned this Friday proudly declaring that his new name would be Prince Charming.

"I Prince Charming," he boldly declared when I picked him up from his father's this Friday. Maybe he had been watching Shrek or maybe someone thought it would be funny because the tagline to my blog is "Prince Charming can kiss my ---." Either way, I had a good laugh and probably encouraged him to say it even more.

2. Salt Water

Benjamin saw Madagascar this weekend and has since been spitting his water out--spraying it, actually--and declaring that it "tastes like salt water."

3. My Mommy's Crazy

This one emerged after a weekend at grandma's. Knowing my mother's sense of humor, this was a set-up. But he came home and told complete strangers "My mommy is crazy" at every chance he had.

4. The Swear Words

I won't reprint them here because I'm sure you can imagine. But Benjamin is now repeating my swear words the second after they escape my mouth, which is rare but frequent enough. He must know they're off-limits though because they're only uttered in these moments.

5. I'm Dead

This is a new one. He's now faking his own death, talking about dying and saying "I die" or "I'm dead" on a semiregular basis. The culprit in this case is his five-year-old best friend, Sydney. When he first said it I was taken aback but then took it in stride. I realize that death and life are both a fact of life; you can't avoid those words.

What do you do to protect or censor your kids from outside talk? I've resigned myself to the fact that my only stance can be reactionary to what he will inevitably learn and to teach him what is right and wrong after he's learned the words. Am I wrong to take this route?