h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica for sale, all 28 volumes. No longer required by local family, 12 year old daughter knows everything.

Really? Would she like to meet the 8 year old who also knows everything?

Or should we just ship them to military school?

Some days I wonder if that might not be a good idea. Today, in particular. Getting her to pick up her room is ridiculously difficult.

I'm scared to go into my daughter's room, there's things lurking in there that no reasonable human being should have to confront!

At this point, walking into my daughter's room is something of an impossibility. She has too much stuff!

You're probably better off not going in anyway!

But the rest of my house...now, that's getting sparkly clean. I even went so far as to neaten the shelves UNDER the kitchen sink!

Wow, that's thorough! But for now, just open her door quickly, stick in your arm up to the elbow (no further), squeeze off some air freshner, and withdraw quickly without actually looking in at all.

She got inspired, apparently, by how clean the rest of the house was, and asked for a trash bag. A trash bag? Last night, when I told her it was time for bed, she begged for more time so she could finish cleaning UNDER her toy box.

I nearly fell over in shock.

Sounds like a craft ploy to me

Nope, she's actually cleaning her room. She's starting to organize things, and last night, she actually put all her shoes, in pairs, neatly in the closet.

Perhaps there's something to be said for a neat house.

Maybe she's just following something she's read or seen on the tv. If not she might just be trying to please you, or maybe she's just discovering her own sense of order in things.

no, I think it's because I'm cleaning the rest of the house. Spring cleaning. Mucking out and the like.

Her father, on the other hand, yells at her all the time to clean her room, but can't be bothered to put dishes in the sink. I think she sees the double standard and gives it a big wet raspberry.

Maybe that too. Kids her age notice much more about us than we sometimes realise, they notice EVERYTHING. They may not fully understand what they see, that will come later; but they observe the world with an intensity and attention that adults sadly lose as they grow up.

That's because it's new. I sometimes have to remind myself that something she's looking at is completely new to her, and that although I've seen it over and over, SHE hasn't, and I need to allow her the time to explore whatever it is. Snails, lately.

If you're clever, and I know you are, you will allow her to introduce the world to you, so you can look at it yourself through her eyes, and experience its wonders all over again.

Yes, well, that is true. However, I still think snails are slimy.

But your daughter, on the other hand, is getting to the age where you've become embarrassing, is she not? Rolling her eyes and stretching out "Dad" for a full second?

Absolutely! I took her to the local fun fair the other night, she refused to sit on any of the rides with me, but had a good time anyway. She's gone to a party at her friends house tonight looking like a refugee from some Baltic war zone! Ho hum! But I was very good, I didn't say anything!

Don't you love that? The other day, my daughter told me she was big enough that we didn't have to hold hands crossing the street. Luckily, there was a Hummer waiting (I live in the consumer capital of the world, don't forget!), and I told her when her eyes were as high as its headlights, she could cross the street by herself. Since I'm only a head taller than that, I figure I've got at least another year.