Is this what they mean when they say “boys will be boys”?

**Crash**
…I stop typing to see if there’s any wailing…
“wail, wail, wail, wail”
….I hold my breath to see if this wailing will stop on its own, as it usually does. Footsteps on the stairs…
“Mummy, Robert really hurt himself.”
…I get to the bottom of the stairs, where I find a crumpled heap of Robert ~ naturally I am expecting something truly horrible, like his leg is sticking out at an unnatural angle, or the top of his head is missing. There appears to be no blood, however, nor are there any visible bones.
Robert sits up, moans a little…
I ask “what happened?”, as we mothers are wont to do. In fact, I think it’s probably a safe bet to say that “what happened” is the question most frequently asked by parents.
This is what happened: Robert bruised his shin because, while he and Colin were taking turns “catching” each other at the bottom of the stairs, Robert failed to catch Colin and bumped his leg.
Oy.

5 Replies to “Is this what they mean when they say “boys will be boys”?”

  1. Fine, apparently. He was also very calm in reporting the accident to me, which is a testament to his increasing maturity.
    Mind you, inventing the “catch me as I throw myself off the stairs” game undermines the maturity thing a little.

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