My cousin, a teacher, asked her young students, "Why should you never accept candy from strangers?"

One girl knew. "Because it might be past the sell-by date."

"Daddy," said my 10-year-old daughter, "I think I want to join the Army."

"Baby," I answered, "I think the Air Force would be a better option for you."

"But I don’t want to be a pilot."

"You don’t have to be a pilot," I told her. "There are other jobs in the Air Force."

Her answer: "I don’t want to be a flight attendant either."

After years of using the same perfumes, I decided to try something different and settled on a light, citrusy fragrance.

The next day I was surprised when it was my little boy, not my husband, who first noticed the change.

As he put his arms around me, he declared, "Wow Mom, you smell just like Froot Loops!"

During weekly visits to my allergist, I’ve noticed a lot of inattentive parents with ill-behaved children in the waiting room. So I was impressed one day to see a mother with her little boy, helping him sound out the words on a sign.

Finally he mastered it and his mother cheered, "That’s great! Now sit there. I’ll be back in 15 minutes."

What did the sign say?

"Children must not be left unattended."