Sometimes, when I tell my kids to put away their toys and I have to repeat myself five times before they actually do, I wonder if they hear anything I say.
And then there are other times when, completely out of the blue, they reference something I said months earlier.  It comes back, that obscure comment I made, and I’m always astonished to discover that the kids not only listen to what I say, they retain it.  It makes me realize that a parent’s words are more powerful than I tend to think.
That’s why I love this song.  It’s by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim, sung here by the incomparable Bernadette Peters.
Careful the things you sayÂ
Children will listen
Enjoy the music, the singing, and – if you’re a parent – the gentle reminder.
