It’s true, children can do the funniest things.

Sometimes it seems a bit unfair to laugh at their

antics because they are maybe doing exactly what it is we’d like to be able to do, but
unfortunately, as adults, we probably wouldn’t get away with! They can have a curiosity about
the world that makes them notice and draw attention to things we probably would politely
ignore, which can be embarrassing but can be funny too.  However, I have a particular example
in mind. I’m going to tell you all about it. I wasn’t even there to witness it, but it is such a good
example that I heard so much about I feel like I was there, so I’m sure it must count!

The child in question is called Beth, and she is the daughter of a good friend of mine. She is
grown up now and studying at a university.  She would hate for me to remind her of this
instance, but it still makes me laugh to recall it. The situation was that she had a birthday party
aged about six or seven years old I think. It was a very special occasion, her mum (my friend)
had made a lovely cake, and all the children at the party were in some sort of fancy dress –
probably as fairies or something similar, in any event, it was a very BIG occasion. Beth, the little
girl, was utterly delighted to find herself the center of attention, and enjoyed party food and
games, having her friends around her and no doubt getting lots of presents too! The only sad
thing was that for some reason, her grandparents weren’t able to go to the party. To make sure
they didn’t miss out, my friend made a great effort to get hold of a camcorder (an old fashioned
video filming device – modern mobile phones that you can film with just didn’t exist back then)
and recorded the whole occasion so it could be played back later.

The following weekend, the grandparents gathered at their daughter and granddaughter’s home
and settled down to watch the video together. The video was a great success, capturing the sense
of occasion wonderfully. All the adults oohed and aahed at the film, enjoying reliving the party
enormously. However, after about five minutes, Beth suddenly got really annoyed. She was
jealous of all the time they were spending watching the television when she felt they should be
spending the time interacting with her! Apparently, she put on a real strop! She stomped across
the living room and stood directly in front of the TV screen so no-one could see the picture
anymore. She folded her arms across her chest and defiantly exclaimed ‘I don’t understand why
you are wasting time watching a picture of me on the television when I’m the real me and you
could be playing with the real me instead!’

It was hilarious, she was so cross, and so jealous of her own picture.  Everybody laughed. I did
too when I heard all about it later as my friend relayed the story to me over the phone. It is true
that Beth, the little girl was maybe a bit spoilt to expect to always be the center of attention, and
it’s ironic that she was so annoyed when actually it was a film all about her celebrating her
birthday that they were viewing anyway.  Even so, there is a little part of me that thinks, funny as
the story is, she was right in a way.  Sometimes it is important to live in the moment, and we can
spend too much time seeing life through a viewfinder on a camera or on a TV screen. What she
did was still funny, it makes me smile now recalling it, and she will still cringe if we mention it
to