Not that I know everthing about parenting, but...

I'm pretty sure the best way to tell your children that it is time to leave the playground is not to say, "Do you think we can go in a minute?"

I'm just sayin'.

On an only vaguely-related note, WonderGirl started a week of swim camp at the local Y today. When I went to pick her up at noon, I took a picnic lunch and we ate on the playground. It was unbelievable - we sat on her towel, opened up our sandwiches, I asked her about her morning, and... she answered my questions. There was no, "I'll tell you in a minute," or "I'm too tired right now," or "We did fun stuff. I don't remember what." We sat and ate together and talked.

I don't know what other 4-year-olds are like, but this is not her usual style. She's into telling stories together (if she can't talk me into telling one by myself) or pointing out interesting animals or people that we see (although I could have skipped the rat (rat!) we saw at the playground this weekend) or talking about food. She doesn't easily reveal that it took her a while to feel brave after I dropped her off, or that she liked the other kids but doesn't consider them friends yet, or that she jumped into the water but still wanted to make sure she was touching her swim teacher. As she was talking to me, I almost felt like I was cheating, that her guard was down somehow and she was going to regret giving me all this info so readily. I hope she doesn't, and that it happens again tomorrow. In any case, it was a wonderful way to start the week.