You said what?

After I had finished reading to Sam the other night, I put the book away and tried to drag him away from his elaborate lego construction without too much protest.  I really can't bear it when one of my boys and I fall out at bedtime, it seems such a long time until morning, for them to simmer and fester and feel hard done by.  I imagine what their subconscious is doing with their unsettled emotions, what dreams are concocted out of their anger and hurt feelings.  I want bedtime to feel like they are enveloped in a soft, gently cloud of my love and deep approval!!  Sadly it is not always possible, but that doesn't stop me trying, every night to achieve that end.  Hence me deploying the old distraction technique as I removed the lego bricks from his hands

"Hey Sam, what happened at school today?"

"How do you know?"

"Umm, I don't know what exactly, I just feel like you have something that you might want to tell me about" (lets keep that all-knowing-mother myth going for a while longer shall we!!)

"Oh, well, it wasn't really anything"

"Go on, tell me! I'm interested in what happens in your life"

"OK, I 'spose, well, it's just that I had an argument with Lily today"

"gosh, you and Lily are you usually on the same page about most things, what did you argue about?"

"We were arguing about whether the world is here because of the big bang theory, or whether God created it"

(Intrigued mother, that wasn't what I was expecting, Minecraft differences - yes, creationism vs evolution - no!)

"Wow, that's a big debate that one - which side did you take?"

"I said it was definitely because of the big bang theory"

"Huh. Why did you take that standpoint?"

"I don't know mum, but it just seems so obvious, evolution and everything"

"Did you and Lily fall out over it?"

"We did a bit, but we made friends again"

"Good.  Friends are more important than scoring points over who is right, and anyway in this particular argument, the debate rages on.  Just make sure that you know what you are talking about, research your facts, and remember that everybody has a right to their opinion" (and as addendum to myself "even when they are wrong!")

Ha ha.  I may not be able to change my own intolerant ways, but I do hope that I can bring my children up to be more tolerant of others beliefs and opinions, and to respect their right to hold them. 

And to know that saying sorry sometimes isn't as hard as it seems.