Guess What?

Guess what is a question I hear numerous times a day. "Guess what happened at school today," "Guess what I did on my way home," and "Guess what my friend said." My day is full of guess what's and after so many times of repetition it becomes a very tiresome phrase.

My six year old daughter is number one in our family for using the guess what phrase. Almost every sentence begins with guess what. One day I decided I was going to try to, guess what. When my daughter came home from school she exclaimed, "Guess what mom!" I replied, "Chickens cluck." She said, "No mom, guess what." I answered "Cows moo." Now with irritation streaming in her voice she said "Mom guess what!" I said, "Birds fly." She finally decided to tell me what she was going to say, ignoring my response.

Now when approached with the phrase guess what I simply reply "Chickens cluck." It took a while for my daughter to ignore the reply or find a different way to start a sentence but she managed. My husband didn't agree to the way I responded. He found my tactics annoying, rude, and torture for our six year old. I have a totally different point of view. I feel it made her think a little bit more before she spoke and to use more of her vocabulary. In the end it has created a little more sanity for me. At least from the "Guess What" phrase.