fun things kids say as first class attention grabbers

[Denis Donovan]

My son is now 41. You may know his two cable TV series 'Foodjammers' on the Food Network (and various others around the world) and 'Invention Nation which ran on Discovery Science a few years ago. His mother is French. I'm American (and he had the very good fortune to be born in Canada when I was in medical school).

A few very brief anecdotes:

During a conversation when Micah was four, I asked him something in English and he replied "Ouipe!"
"What is 'ouipe'" I asked.
"Well, papa," he said. "in English, you can say 'yes' or 'yep', so in French you can say 'oui' or 'ouipe.'"

About the same time, Micah asked me if he could do something and I replied "You bet," meaning "yes, of course."
"I AM NOT!" he replied, indignant. Because we mixed French and English a lot, he had interpreted what I said as a mixed version of 'tu es bête' [you're stupid].

When I taught high school French over 40 years ago, I had my French II class write one-lilne TV ads or announcements. Many were of the "Les forêt feux empêchent les ours" (forest fires prevent bears).


- - -
Denis M. Donovan, M.D., M.Ed., F.A.P.S.
Director, EOCT Institute

Medical Director, 1983 - 2006
The Children's Center for Developmental Psychiatry
St. Petersburg, Florida

P.O Box 47576
St. Petersburg, FL 33743-7576
Phone:	727-641-8905
DenisDonovan at EOCT-Institute.org
dmdonovan1937 at gmail.com

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