Playground Conversations

Yesterday I took my son to the playground to meet up with a friend and her son. The place was swarming with kids from one or two Head Start programs, and chaos reigned. At one point, my son started digging in the sand with his hands, alongside a boy who was digging with a shovel. My son accidentally flicked sand all over the other kid's leg, and the kid just stopped digging and stared at it. I was a few feet away, but I don't usually get involved in little playground kafuffles. I think more often than not it's better to let the kids work things out on their own unless they look like they're going to really hurt each other.

"Sorry," said my son. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it. You can just brush it off."

The kid looked at my son and resumed staring at his leg.

"I didn't mean to do it," my son said. "I'm really a nice guy."

"I know," said the other kid.

"Yes, I am!" my son insisted.

"I know," said the other kid.

"I AM TOO A NICE GUY!" my son yelled.

"I know," said the other kid.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't understand you," my son said as he went back to digging.