What is the Goal Here?

When did my kids get so smart? With Alex it was sometime between age 3 and 4. I don't know when, but suddenly he's able to outsmart, outwit and outrun me. Anna is on the verge of getting there too. She'll learn from the best, for sure.

I won't go on and on about the little things he says like: "We have to wash our hair to get the chlorine from the pool out of it. Mom, did you Chlorine is an element on the periodic table?" No shit, kiddo. Oh, he can also tell you the symbol for it.

This morning I caught Alex doing "workbook" with Anna. Yes, I am one of those mothers who buys summertime workbooks to keep my kids busy at the table while I clean up dishes or get dinner on the table. I don't push it, but they love them! So we all sat down to work on the infamous workbook together and lo and behold, my son knew how to read the words: truck, car, plane, train and bus along with a few other ones I didn't know he knew. But I won't go on about that.

But the funniest thing I've heard in a long while was the negotiation at dinner the other night. He's always been--like most kids--a master negotiator. You give him 5 minutes until bedtime and he'll talk you into 8. He clean his plate down to just the right amount in order to get dessert. So upon chowing down a dinner of pasta, chicken and broccoli, my Mr. Smarty Pants looks down at his plate and says: "OK, mom. What's the goal here to get dessert?"

I'm sure my chin hit the floor. Goal? Do you even know what that means? Apparently he did. Apparently he knows it has two meanings which he went on to explain to me. But he quickly finished and then came right back to inquiring about dessert.

He got dessert after achieving his goal.