Out of the mouth of babes

'They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, "You have taught children and infants to give you praise.”' - The Gospel according to Matthew.
"Children say the darndest things." - Bill Cosby

Yesterday my older daughter started singing a song at the supper table. It was to the effect of

"We're all special"

She smiled while singing it, imagining love to all children, no matter how much the same or different they all were.

In a moment of parenting I thought it wise to probe her empathy level so I asked:

"What do we do with special people?"

The correct answer would be love, but I would have gladly accepted "play with" or some variation thereof.

This is where my younger daughter chirped up:

"Kill them."

My younger daughter is in JK. She is cute as a button, with a Susie Derkin's haircut, slightly freckled nose, bright blue eyes, and an infectious laugh. She is starting to read and write, despite not even being taught those skills yet. She cares tenderly for any smaller children who are around, and worries for the well being of the cat. Actually, I'm worried for the cat too. Her stomach is so large it has independent inertia. I expect soon she'll have to corner carefully or keep going stomach first.

So this wonderful, sweet, innocent child just uttered a line worthy of Stalin. This was so unexpected, and wildly out of moment I felt the reaction to laugh. I wanted to howl. This would have been terrible, because she was trying to be funny. She's testing the boundaries of humour, and apparently she's channeling the "Kids in the Hall".

There are moments as a parent that your child will get the best of you. They will outwit you long before you expect. They will say something so funny that the case will be dismissed on count of hilarity.

So I did what any good parent would do. I bit my lip. HARD. Then I drew on my acting training to keep my composure and chastise her for such a horrible thought. Then I went to the sink and nearly collapsed from the effort.

I hope that dealt with it, but I'm putting the knives a bit farther up on the counter to be sure. Because in her words I'm a "special Daddy".

Help.