Mrs. Scatter posted in Parenting 101 how she constantly looks for opportunities to impart valuable life lessons on the Large Smelly Boys.

As Mr. Scatter noted in a recent post, The Scatter Family has been on the road. Longtime Scatter friends know that when the family travels in the Large Smelly Boymobile they often listen to audio books or play word games. Sometimes the LSBs commandeer the blog keyboard and type their list of clever ideas that come from these games.

Last summer The Scatter Family passed many miles and restaurant waits by coming up with questions that always answered with “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” This time they filled several notebook pages with phrases that always had a new consistent reply.

Mrs. Scatter, also known as the Very Attentive Mother, is very excited to glean several of these to share as valuable life lessons, thinking other parents who also strive to model supreme mature behavior will eagerly want to pass them on.

The new game? Phrases that always have the reply … “Oh, so NOW you tell me!”

• This product is not recommended for people who are or ever have been pregnant. (“People” is a nice touch.)
• Warning: Smoking can be hazardous to your health.
• You should never drink and drive.
• Double cheeseburgers are fattening.
• There were no weapons of mass destruction.
• You really ought to give Iowa a try.
• True love begins with steak. (Mrs. Scatter did not come up with this one.)
• Picking your nose is gross. (Mrs. Scatter did not come up with this one.)
• Toasters and bathtubs do not mix. (Mrs. Scatter wishes she had come up with this one.)
• Yesterday was our anniversary. (Mrs. Scatter did not come up with this one, but probably should have in the name of humility.)
• Bears don’t like it when you break their chairs, eat their food and sleep in their beds.
• Smee: “I don’t think that crocodiles like it when you say, ‘Bite me!'”
• Chicks hate it when you haven’t showered for a while. (Mrs. Scatter doesn’t know who came up with this one, but she’s certain it was her.)
• That had been in my mouth. (Mrs. Scatter did not come up with this one, but it was recently spoken by one of the LSBs when she unwittingly ate a prechewed calamari. Mrs. Scatter is generously willing to mine her wealth of experience and impart her deep parenting knowledge by sharing this vital tip: Crabby teen-agers who haven’t slept, hate being on the road and hate being with their parents can be turned around with one simple trick. All you have to do is eat a prechewed calamari. Works every time.)

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Illustration: You really ought to give Iowa a try. C.S. Hammond & Company Atlas – 1910/United States Digital Map Library