If Kids Had Breakpoints

It's time once again for the world of computer programming to prove it's usefulness by teaching us a thing or two about parenting.

When developing a piece of software, there are times when it is necessary to get down to the nitty gritty and figure out why things are behaving the way they are. One way to do this is with a breakpoint. A breakpoint is a place in a program that when reached, temporarily halts execution of the remainder of the program. You could also think of a breakpoint as a time-out in sports. The breakpoint (time-out) allows the programmer (the coach) to take it all in and draw up a play without the pressure of the clock still running.

Wouldn't it be great if kids had breakpoints?

There are times when my kids do some pretty bizarre things, and I would love to be able to 'halt execution' for a minute and see exactly what is going on in their heads. Just the other day Special K was crawling on the couch, when without notice, she started repeatedly banging her head on the arm rest. What in the world was she thinking?

Then as of late, Princess P is going through another phase where all she seems to talk about is boobies. 'Mom, can I have booby soup?' 'Look at my little boobies!' 'Boobies boobies, nipple, boobies.'

Just once, I'd love to be able to do a little debugging and see what variables (environmental or otherwise) cause these behaviors. Or... maybe I don't want to know. Perhaps I would find out that I'm the one causing them to behave like hooligans.