I like to teach my kids to choose their words carefully, and to have a well rounded vocabulary. We got a silly reminder of how important words are just the other night.
In the morning, to begin our school day, I swaddle our puppy to myself. I wrap her in a blanket and tuck the ends behind my back so she is pressed up against me. It calms her immediately, just like a baby and she settles in for the daily readings.
I guess I hadn’t used the word aloud before, because both kids asked what ‘swaddle’ meant. I explained, telling how little babies like the physical sense of safety with memories of the womb. I also reminded that the word is used to describe how Jesus would look when the shepherds were told about His birth.
Later in the day, my son said that he tried to do ‘that word’ to the puppy and it hadn’t worked. I asked what he was talking about, and he said, ‘sandal, spaddle, sidle.’ He was currently standing over the puppy, so I supplied, ‘straddle.’
At bed time, my son told me again that ‘straddling’ didn’t work with the puppy the way it had for me. I had no idea what he was talking about. After some more questions, it finally clicked that he had tried to swaddle her. Oh!!
My daughter entered the room in the middle of the conversation and heard me say swaddle. She put her hand out in the shape of a horizontal circle and began to shake.
No, dear. That is strangle.
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