women with real influence

My youngest son came to see me in the kitchen this morning, while I was making school lunches (By the way, has there ever been a more thankless task in the history of parenting? I don't thinks so).

Me: "Your face is so clean! Great job!"

D.: "I washed my face!" (He shows me how he did it, miming vigorous rubbing.)

Me: "That's great!"

D.: "And I brushed my teeth. And I even flossed." (He mimes brushing and flossing.)

Me (impressed): "That is amazing. You are awesome."

D.: "I did it because at day care we are learning about the importance of good hygiene."

They have good teachers at the day care. And, apparently, their words carry more weight than mine do. Maybe I could ask them to talk about "the importance of being polite to his parents" or "the importance of cleaning up his toys."