The lazy days in between Christmas and New Years are perfect for relaxing with your family and watching classic holiday movies. But sometimes, these films bring up interesting questions for your little ones that can be challenging to answer — like when my 5-year-old asked me why all the grown-ups didn’t believe Santa was real in The Santa Clause. Andy Cohen recently navigated one such situation with his 4-year-old son Ben, and it should be a blueprint in exactly how to explain difficult concepts to kids.
“What does a misfit…” Ben asks his dad in a new video on Instagram.
“What’s a misfit?” Cohen clarifies. The duo is sitting on a couch watching the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He explains, “A misfit means a little bit out of…just…a misfit means that you march by your own drummer. Do you understand that?”
Poor Cohen. How do you convey that a misfit is someone who doesn’t “fit in” in a way that doesn’t damage your child and make them think that they have to behave a certain way? It’s rocky territory, but Cohen is doing his best to answer the question in a positive way that Ben can understand.
While they’re chatting, the Bravo TV host notices that Ben’s feet are covered in purple marker. “You drew all over your foot with a magic marker, huh?” he asks his son. Ben doesn’t respond, but the evidence is written all over his little feet.
“Oh Ben,” Cohen remarks. “You’re a little bit of a misfit my man.”
“It just means you do your own thing, that’s what a misfit means,” he continues. “And that’s OK!”
“We’re a couple of Misfits! Turns out, we’re ALL misfits. And that’s OK! #Rudolph” Cohen captioned the video of the heartfelt conversation.
People quickly took notice of Cohen’s sweet and simple explanation. “Oh boy do I love the way you explain the world to him ❤️,” one person wrote.
Someone else said, “My dad explained a misfit the same way you did. You’re such a great dad! ❤️”
“The way you speak to Ben is amazing!!!! I love this ❤️” another commented.
Although Ben enjoys Christmas movies, he is also a big fan of Hanukkah. Earlier this month, Cohen asked his son, “What’s the difference between Christmas and Hanukkah?” as they watched The Polar Express together.
“Hanukkah’s better,” Ben answers.
“Why?” asks Cohen.
“Well, ‘cause it’s eight days and Christmas is…” Ben answers.
“Christmas is one day?” Cohen clarifies. “Eight versus one, I like it.”
Cohen wrote over the video: “He loves Christmas, but is fully into Hannukah!”
Cohen and Ben may be a misfit like the toys in the movie, but they are so cute it doesn’t even matter!
Find out how our favorite celebs spend Christmas, Hanukkah, and more wintertime holidays with their families.
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