Ninja baby

One of the changes in The Boy's behavior, now that he's grasped the concept of good and bad, is how quiet he'll get when he's up to no good. You don't realize it at the time, but for a couple of years you become accustomed to the various stumbles, bumps, and babblings that emanate from your offspring.

But then they see a chair that would allow them to climb unto the kitchen table where Mom's purse is just lying around waiting for anybody to open and scatter the contents throughout the house and suddenly you hear all sounds stop. He is actually able to absorb sound waves nearby, like an audio event horizon, and that's when your instincts kick in and you go running to him faster than you ever did for the sounds of crashing or crying.

It's a wonderful system, and one I've used to my benefit from time to time. If you hear the absence of activity you can creep over to see what he's up to, and if it's harmless you know that he'll be focused on his sinister activity for a few minutes and you have time to sneak over to the kitchen to eat the last rice crispy treat.