We are at the dining table. I take out the croissant from the bag and place it on a plate in front of Vian. Vian: Appa, what kind of “cossant” is it? Me: It’s a plain croissant, Vian. Vian: No. It’s a bum-bum “cossant”. Me: Huh? Vian: Look it (pointing to his misshapen croissant that looks like a butt). You win this round, Vian.

I sometimes share clean adult jokes that are too clever for a 2 year old to grasp. Sometimes it is fun to see the confused look on his face when he sees me cracking up on my own jokes. Yes, I laugh at my own jokes, moving on. We’re hanging out at a coffee shop and I start with the setup for a great joke. Me: Vian, did you know that humans eat more bananas than monkeys?...

Sempi and I read bedtime books together and discuss the story before he goes to sleep. The story we read had a mention of illegal drugs. Apparently he didn’t know what drugs were. So we discussed what drugs were and how some bad guys can sell drugs to victims and why it is illegal. Suddenly Sempi drops this nugget of wisdom. People are always born to be strong and good. No one is born to be weak or evil....

Sempi (my 6yo son) and I have this tradition of sharing our problems and asking each other’s opinion on how to solve it. We do this while we walk to his school. We’ve been doing this since he was 3. Here’s an example from Portland. Me: When I bike to work, I have to wait a long time for the elevator. Sempi (3yo): You should just build a ramp to your 28th floor, so you can just bike all the way up....

Some nights I read a book about Gandhi to Sempi for bedtime. There is an incident in Gandhi’s life when he’s thrown out of a first-class coach in South Africa because he is not white. I told Sempi that it was an injustice and it doesn’t happen anymore. He listened intently and nodded approvingly. The next night I’m reading a comic about superheros and he asks me, “How come everyone in Justice League is white?...