A hilarious letter from a little girl who "ran away" from home is cracking up parents today -- first because of the author's adorable attempt at spelling, and second because of her reasoning. Says the girl "I am runing away becas you think I farted when I dident. PS You are Mean." Go ahead, laugh. I did.

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And then stop and think about the way you laugh at your kids. Especially when they're being super serious.

Kids are hilarious when they're trying to make a point. They can't help it. It's fate, destiny, God's plan, what-evah. There is no way to sit on your couch and watch a 5-year-old stamp her feet and cross her arms over her chest to make a point and not burst out laughing. If you can manage it, I'll award you my entire collection of refrigerator-worthy art, because clearly you are a better mom than I.

What could possibly be that serious at 5? I'll tell you what. Everything. We think they're cute because they ARE. But to them, the fact that the dog ate their last chicken nugget is the WORST THING EVER.

And when we ignore them -- or worse, laugh at them -- they run away because that's the best way they can think of getting our attention. I remember doing it myself, writing a letter for the neighbor kid to deliver to my mother, refusing to return home until she'd agreed not to do something that terrified the pants off of me (I should note I only got as far as the other side of a giant barn-like structure on my parents' property, where I hid with my bag of loot from the kitchen!). In my little pea brain, I thought escaping my house was the best way to show my adult mom that a kid meant business.

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We laugh because it's funny, because it's patently ridiculous to put that much energy into bemoaning the fact that the "new" Phineas & Ferb episode is a repeat. But we should be relieved!

I'm glad the worst thing my kid has to cry about is that I forgot to turn on her CD player during the bedtime routine. I'm happy my 6-year-old has yet to face something heavier in what should still be the lightest, happiest time of her life. I want her to still feel like a child and enjoy childhood, but that doesn't mean I should ignore her when she blows the little things (missing Princess Tiana Silly Band anyone?) into something monumental.

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Did this letter give you second thoughts about laughing at your kids when they're being ridiculous?





Image via Buzzfeed





Written by Jeanne Sager for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.



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