Yeah, you read that right. But don’t go vomit just yet, it’s a serious topic.
You see, motherhood is not always pink and shiny. Even when the subject is a cute little girl in a cute purple skirt.
We went for a walk a few days ago. We were on our way home when I noticed that it was kind of quiet. I was enjoying the warm sun when I realized Maya wasn’t talking up a storm next to me. That meant something was wrong.
I looked behind me. She was standing still about 20 feet away with a weird expression on he face.
“Come on Maya, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I am just eating my boogers mommy,” she replied.
“You WHAT??? Yuck, Maya! Disgusting! Awful! Don’t do that!” I said while fighting a gag reflex.
“But why?” She asked innocently.
Now… I am a firm believer in giving kids (in all ages) the same respect and treatment that you expect as an adult, and as an adult I would not expect someone to give me the because-I-said-so answer when I ask why. I also believe that kids have to understand what’s the reason behind a rule; otherwise they won’t follow it. So even though I REALLY wanted to say “because I said so,” close the subject, pretend like it never happened and keep walking, I stopped myself and thought for a moment.
How in hell should I explain a 3.5 years old not to eat her nose boogers in a way that will make sense to her?
And then it dawned on me…
“Nose boogers are the garbage of our nose,” I said. “Do we eat garbage?”
“No,” said Maya. I could see her brain was working….
“Are you a raccoon?” I added to help her understand better.
“No, mommy! You are silly, I am not a raccoon, I am Maya!” she exclaimed.
“Right, you are Maya, and we are people, and we don’t eat garbage, ok?”
“Ok, but remember that after winter Spring comes and the flowers will grow and we can pick them and take them home and then our home will be beautiful?” So the rambling resumed, and we kept on walking.
For now it works, she didn’t do the yucky thing again, but if she will, I’ll just remind her that she is not a raccoon.
I was debating if I should post this, after all she might get married one day, and if her future husband reads this things might get messy….
But if you are expecting a baby anytime soon, I feel obligated to give you a sample of what you are getting into. If you are already a mother. you probably nodded while reading this and maybe the raccoon analogy will help you one day. And if you consider having kids I hope you decide that you should because they really are cute and awesome!
Most of the time…
Besides, let’s be honest here for a minute shall we? We all sampled our boogers at one time or another…
I know you did too!
Try to remember,
Or if you rather,
Go ask your mother! 😉
Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.
No. No, we have Not all sampled our boogers. ??? However, it’s probably fair to say we’ve all liberated some boogers from our noses at some point in our lives. Apart from that, I appreciated the article. Struggling with helping a nephew who has this nasty habit. Nose garbage/nose poop is helpful! Thank you!
LOL, we’ve all been there!
Thank you ever so for you post.Much thanks again.
I caught my grand doing it. She cried when I told her it was gross. I explained that it was waste that her body was removing, Just like poop, I then asked if she’d eat that. She was kinda shocked, so now we say nose poop should go in tissue .i pray it works!