Do you know that often repeated expression out of the mouths of babes? This phrase comes from the Gospel of Matthew, and Rudyard Kipling, among others, used it.
What does this expression mean? It refers to how children will speak with honesty and innocence. Sometimes they may be too honest to know better than to keep some things secret, and too innocent to grasp the meanings of things they’ve said. As you read here, adults wish these children didn’t open their mouths at all.
Ever notice how a 4-year-old’s voice is louder than 200 adult voices?
Several years ago, I returned home from a trip just when a storm hit, with crashing thunder and severe lightning.
As I came into my bedroom about 2 a.m., I found my two children in bed with my wife, Karey, apparently scared by the loud storm. I resigned myself to sleep in the guest bedroom that night.
The next day, I talked to the children and explained that it was Ok to sleep with Mom when the storm was bad, but when I was expected home, please don’t sleep with mom that night.
They said OK.
After my next trip several weeks later, Karey and children picked me up in the terminal at the appointed time.
Since the plane was late, everyone had come into the terminal to wait for my plane’s arrival, along with hundreds of other folks waiting for their arriving passengers.
As I entered the waiting area, my son saw me and came running shouting.
“Hi, Dad! I’ve got some good news!”
As I waved back, I said loudly, “What’s the good news?”
Alex shouted,
“Nobody slept with Mommy while you were away this time!”
The airport became very quiet, as everyone in the waiting area looked at Alex, then turned to me, and then searched the rest of the area to see if they could figure out exactly who his Mom was.
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An acquaintance of mine who is a physician told this story about her then 4-year-old daughter.
On the way to preschool, the doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat, and her little girl picked it up and began playing with it.
“Be still my heart,” thought my friend,” my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps!”
Then the child spoke into the instrument: “Welcome to McDonald’s, May I take your order?”
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A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, “I’m Mr. Sugarbrown’s daughter.”
Her mother told her this was wrong. She must say, “I’m Jane Sugarbrown.”
The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday School, and said, “Aren’t you Mr. Sugarbrown’s daughter?”
She replied, “I thought I was, but Mother says I’m not.”
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A little girl asked her mother, “Can I go outside and play with the boys?”
Her mother replied, “No, you can’t play with the boys, they’re too rough.”
The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, “If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?”
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A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service,
“And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?”
One bright little girl replied,
“Because people are sleeping.”
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