Woo started reading about four months ago, and he continues to amaze me with the things that he can spell and read.  The reading has also made me aware that I need to be more careful about the things that I leave lying around the house, especially given my work, and that we should be more attentive to the language in the stories that we let him read.  It’s not that we let him read dirty limericks, just that there are a shocking number of children’s books that have grammatical errors in them.  I correct them when reading aloud, but as he learns, he won’t recognize the errors on his own.

Today he showed me that this reading thing is going to keep me on my toes in other ways. We were at Kid Kaf, a local coffee shop that has a large play area for young children in the back.  We’ve been a few times with friends, and the place is usually crazy busy. When we arrived this AM it was empty.  This gave Woo a chance to look around and fully take in his surroundings.

“Does that sign say only kids under five are allowed?” he asked.

I confirmed and we went in and started playing.  He was focused on the sign it seems, as he kept returning to me to ask clarifying questions.  We finally got to the crux of the matter when he asked how old my friend’s daughter is.  She turned six in February, but was five when she joined us there over the Christmas holidays. Woo confirmed this fact and then giving me a knowing look, asked why she was allowed in the play area.  Oops.

It seems that this is not the only rule infraction that I have been a part of at Kid Kaf.  I have always been able to score the comfy chairs in the corner, far away from where all the other chairs and tables are.  I’ve often wondered why these are available all the time, so, as I sipped my coffee and watched my lils eat their fruit plate, I mentioned this to the friend that I was sitting with today.

Her response cleared it all up for me.  “Well, technically you aren’t allowed food in this area,” she said.

There are signs in several areas that clearly state it.  Double oops.