Abbie the Girl Scout

As we all know, children at Abbie’s age are sponges for what they hear. Especially for things we tell them directly.

Lately, Abbie has picked up on the word “Hot”, mainly from when we are feeding her and we caution her something is hot. Now when she experiences something remotely warm, she’ll repeat back, “Hot! Hot!” letting us know what she’s thinking.

And since we’re the cautious, ever-protective parents of hers, the word “careful” has also entered her vocabulary.

So today, Abbie and I went out to Clifton park, a nearby park with fun things for Abbie to run around and play on.  One of these things is a large wooden train which Abbie likes to climb on and sit in.  The top of the train has a black top which, when sitting in the sun as it does, collects heat and is warm to the touch. While sitting in the train, Abbie reached out and tapped the outside of the train. She quickly pulled her hand back in and said, “Hot. Hot. Cah-fol! (Careful).”

I asked her, “is that hot? Be careful touching it.” She responded, “Cah-fol! Hot”

A little while later we had migrated to the swings. While Abbie swung back and forth, another little boy and his father came to the park to play. Abbie watched the two of them as they walked toward the train. As the boy began to climb onto the train, she yelled out to him, “Cah-fol! Cah-fol! Hot! Hot!” At first, I didn’t know what she was talking about, but after she began to point to the little boy on the train, I understood her intent.

I was so proud of her and her concern for someone else. Here is the video of the event which I managed to capture once I realized what was going on.