The Smallest Smile

My daughter is pretty sure that she can get anything she wants and get away with almost anything, with little more than a sweet smile. Furthermore, she also thinks she is the first person to come up with this clever little idea and that no one has the slightest idea what she's up to. In other words, she has earned her degree in manipulation at the tender age of six.

She will try to charm and con perfect strangers if given the chance. She's heard people tell her one too many times that she's "so cute" and she's decided this is a weapon she can use. Let me say here and now that I have repeatedly warned teachers and therapists and not one ever believes me until they've been duped by this child. It never fails.

What makes this scenario even more difficult is that she's able to switch tactics midstream when she realizes that her initial approach isn't working. She can go from an innocent smile to pathetic tears inside of sixty seconds. I figure she's honing her skills for a career in acting and working toward her ultimate goal of accepting an Academy Award.

I think the reason she's been blessed with such an ability is that she's also able to forgive and forget much quicker than average people. In essence, she wants to be happy and desires the people around her to be happy as well. She'll use any method at her disposal to make either happen.

She isn't the only one either. I've heard from plenty of parents who have kids with Down Syndrome who have the exact same problem. The difficulty arises from people's initial tendency to feel pity for these kids, all the while these same beautiful children are trying to figure out how to get the sucker they see on the desk.

Don't feel sorry for these kids. On certain levels they can think better than you or I. Don't underestimate them either. They may go around the corner to come to the same conclusion as other kids, but they get there just the same.

As for my daughter, I've learned to think around the same corners as her, that way I can cut her off before she reaches the corner and the ultimate goal of her most recent con. Still, I know once she's caught she'll just look at me, and smile.

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