Speak up!

I won't beat around the bush when I say I think my son is really smart. But hey, don't all parents think their kids are smart?!?

But I would love to tell people out there in the world that we're not trying to impress anybody when we make our son say "hello" or "thank you" or "I want a sannich (sandwich), please." We're trying to teach him how to socialize with people, how to ask for what he wants and how to do both of those things without being a rude little snot.

I translate when it's needed (like when we're ordering at restaurants), but I encourage him to talk to people and ask for what he wants. When my brother and I were kids, our parents made us order at restaurants. They gave us a couple of choices, and when the server came, we told him or her what we wanted to eat.

By doing that, we learned early on that by looking people in the eyes and telling them what we want, they almost always gained some respect for our independence and social abilities, oh, and they gave us what we wanted!

At the time, I'm sure it was just an ego trip for us because someone was making a fuss over us. But now, I can talk to anyone, any time with no problem. And I relate it directly back to my parents teaching us how to do it when we were little.

So now we're working to do the same thing with Biscuit.

Last night, when we had dinner out, I ordered Biscuit's meal, then said to him, "Can you tell her what you'd like for dinner?"

"Sannich and fries," Biscuit said.

I put my hand up for a high-five and said, "Good job, little man!"