by Anonymous, sent via email
My mother said constantly when we were growing up: "thumbs out of your mouth, fingers out of your nose." There are three kids in my family, so I think I heard that sentence from age 2 to age 12. I was always secretly annoyed to have been caught, even as an older kid, because there is just something satisfying about getting a big one out, but eventually "that is disgusting" won out and I started using tissues to mine for gold.

Imagine my dismay when my husband started barking at our daughter "QUIT PICKING YOUR NOSE." Of course he is right to correct her, but there's that inner child of mine again, knowing just how she feels. At age 3, I am not sure she has the discipline to go use a tissue, but we're trying to get that started. Still, when she's hiding in a corner, part of me wants to go over and say "I know honey - it's good to have a clean nose, isn't it?" On the flip side, I do not want her to be the adult person I saw in traffic the other day going at it in the car. I wanted to roll down my window and say "being inside that car does not make you invisible!" but then I figured he didn't care. Still - ick.

What is the one thing that you have to correct your kids about but you secretly understand why they do it?