Framed

Benjamin has taken sibling rivalry to a new low. The other day, he ran to me screaming, "Mei Mei took wheels!" When I checked, I saw that her chubby little hand was, indeed, grasping a wheel from one of Benjamin's toy cars. What Benjamin didn't know was that I saw him place the wheel in her hand. I'd read in some study that lying by young children is actually a sign of intelligence because it requires higher order thinking. At least this is what I told myself as I witnessed this brazen act of fibbing.

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But then - as I stood there watching - Benjamin once again gave the little wheel back to Calliope, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Mama, I saw Mei Mei took wheels." What!!? I saw him give the wheel to his sister, and what's more, he knows that I saw him do it! But I guess that he wasn't lying, because technically his eyes did see his sister take the green wheel from him. So I ask you what is the playing mind games by a young child a sign of? Extreme intelligence? Or an omen of future psychotic behavior?

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I'm going to go with extreme intelligence.