Home health aide

It is said that partners and pets often become more protective of a woman's health when she is pregnant. So do preschoolers, it turns out.

• Every time I purchase or pour a cup of coffee, Edith now asks, "Mom, is it decaf? Regular coffee is not good for the baby." Considering that this fetus has known her share of caffeine, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one to convey this idea to our resident three year old. I wonder whether she has been reading the more conservative pregnancy dietary recommendations out there.

• Last week we were out walking Bismarck when a black cat started to cross the street in front of us, more than a block up ahead. "Stop!" screamed Edith. I stopped, uncertain whether she was afraid that Bismarck was going to lunge or whether she had perhaps picked up the old superstition about black cats from one of the Halloween stories they're reading at preschool. "I don't want you to get allergic," she explained. I didn't even know she knew I had cat allergies.

• Yesterday she was working a peppermint candy for a long time and eventually grew tired of it. We were in the car, and she didn't know how to dispose of the last sticky bit. I asked if I could eat it. And this child who has always considered a morsel of food tastier when it comes from my fork than from hers and is liable to help herself to anything from my plate if not checked, looked at me with a frown and said, "No, Mom. No sharing germs."

Actually, it's not only me she's protecting these days--she is looking out for all the more vulnerable members of her world. Edith's school went peanut-free this year due to the enrollment of a sixteen month old with a severe allergy. We explained at the beginning of the year that this meant no more peanut butter on schooldays, and Edith has been the one to monitor this situation since, duly concerned for the health of her schoolmate. In fact, the other day we were rushing to arrive on time and got there just at 9, at which point Edith still had the remainder of a granola bar in her hand. We tried to hurry her inside so we wouldn't be fined, but she planted herself on the sidewalk and refused. We cajoled. She refused. Finally she wailed, "There might be peanuts in my bar!" We stopped. She was right.