There are very few things I love more than laughing with my son at bedtime, even when I am the reason he is still awake.
We already know my son doesn’t always like the way I smell. He has made that very clear before. What I am beginning to understand, though, is that his sensory sensitivities seem a lot like mine. Our brains register certain scents with far more intensity than other people may realize.
Last summer, my son complained almost daily that one of his camp counsellors had bad breath and that he didn’t want to stand near her. He was only four at the time, so I knew there was no malicious intent behind his comment. Still, like a good parent, I told him he could speak to one of the other counsellors if he needed help and didn’t have to get unnecessarily close to her. Problem solved.
Last night, it was my turn to tuck him into bed. One of my most toxic parenting traits is getting him completely riled up before bedtime and then becoming frustrated when he can’t calm down. Last night was no exception, although this time, it was also partly his fault.
After a few bedtime stories, it was time for lights out. As he always does, he curled into me like the hot little furnace he is.
A few seconds later, he said, “I don’t like the way you smell.”
Shocked, I immediately began sniffing my armpits.
“What do you mean? I just showered,” I said, already thinking, Here we go again with the smell thing. I’m musky. I get it. We all get it.
“Your breath,” he replied.
I laughed so hard that every time I thought I had recovered, I looked at him and started all over again. It went on for so long that I’m fairly confident he eventually fell asleep to the sound of me still laughing beside him.
There are very few things I love more than lying beside my son and laughing together at bedtime, even when the joke is apparently my breath. But I’ll take the insult. He was probably right anyway.
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