Samantha Bee and Jason Jones on Piper’s ‘Potty Humor’
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It should come as no surprise that Piper Bee-Jones, 3 ½-year-old daughter of Daily Show correspondents Samantha Bee and Jason Jones is a comedian-in-the-making — and “potty humor” is her specialty!
In an interview with Time Out New York Kids, Samantha reveals that Piper’s “favorite thing” is to “substitute the word poop or pee into any song or aspect of the conversation,” and mom does little to dissuade the practice!
“She thinks it’s so hysterical,” Samantha says. “Unfortunately, I also think it’s hysterical, so I encourage it.” The couple’s newest addition — 15-month-old Fletcher – is also a source of amusement, despite their better judgment! Says Jason,
“That’s half the problem with our parenting. We laugh at the stuff that other parents are scolding their kids for. Like Fletcher will take a handful of eggs and whip them at the wall, and we’re like, ‘Sorry, but comedically, that was very funny. It came out of nowhere.’”
The feeling is not always mutual, however. Piper once watched one of Jason’s Daily Show skits and was not impressed by what she saw. Their daughter “cried so hard that we don’t show her anything anymore,” Samantha recalls. “It was so upsetting…We didn’t think it through.” She explains,
“To be fair, it was the one where he was making fun of being a dad early in her life. She just saw it recently. It appeared that he had dropped her out of the Baby Björn, and she thought that he’d really dropped her. So we’re not going to let her watch any of our stuff for a while. We’re having a little moratorium on appearing on the show and also watching the show.”
Joking that the sketch was an illustration of Jason’s bad parenting, when in reality he is a “great father,” Jason quips of Piper, “Do you not understand that? How does your two-year-old brain not understand that?”
Click below to read about the Bee-Joneses thoughts on raising a family in New York City.
The show also holds some happy memories for Piper, however; She and her brother are always welcome on the set, and they often have company. “It might surprise you, what a nurturing environment it really is,” Samantha says. “Everybody there has kids. Kids and dogs. The whole place is swimming with children and dogs.”
When the couple must head to work alone, they leave their children in the hands of a “fantastic” babysitter. “We will not release her name because we don’t want her poached,” Jason says. Adds Samantha,
“We love her…We have her about 28 hours a week. And when she gets a better job we’re going to be heartbroken.”
Samantha says that she’s “too busy cleaning up” to be funny at home, but Jason admits his impressions of the kids’ grandparents is usually guaranteed a laugh. Piper also likes it when dad “sings the music from The Little Mermaid poorly,” according to Samantha. “She loves to give him the thumbs-down…We try to teach her that it’s nice to encourage singing, even if it’s bad.”
The couple are proud New Yorkers, even though they are currently crammed into a one bedroom apartment. “I wouldn’t trade it for a three-bedroom in the suburbs,” Jason says. “The city has everything.” Samantha agrees, noting that “even just walking around with Fletcher, he’s so amused.” From the sound of things, that amusement is doubled whenever Fletcher’s big sister is around. Says Samantha,
“When Piper attacks Fletcher in a way that’s not pleasing to us, that’s his favorite thing. It’s very hard for us to discourage her from attacking him. He loves it…it’s insane. We don’t know what to do. We really are not doing a good job at setting the limits.”
What’s more, Piper wakes her parents by crying out for “candy and cake-related” treats in her sleep. “It’s like a nightmare,” Jason explains. “A candymare…’Aaahhhhh cupcake.’”
When the close quarters become too much and they need to put some space between themselves and the kids, the couple retreat to their cottage in the Catskills. When asked to describe her perfect day, the vacation home factors in heavily for Samantha. “I wake up at the cottage,” she says. “Sleep in until 8:30 or 9…Everybody wakes up smiling.”
After grabbing a coffee and heading to the farmers market alone, Samantha says she’d head home to “make waffles or something.” Her family-of-four would eat outside, and spend the bulk of their day swimming before “the children take a two-hour nap” and “Mommy and Daddy enjoy some private time together.”
“A little more swimming, a little more eating. Maybe Piper watches a princess-style movie that keeps her mind occupied. Fletcher sits in his bouncy chair. We read a little bit. They go to sleep. Mommy and Daddy watch a movie — an adult movie. Not pornographic — like a good-quality dramatic feature or documentary, and we all go to sleep with the door open and the warm breeze blowing in.”
Jason, by contrast, described quite a different scene for his perfect day! “Me, 10 grand, Vegas,” he quipped, prompting Samantha to interject, “and your family!”
Source: Time Out New York Kids
– Missy
- Posted on Sep 25, 09 at 2:00PM
- Permalink
- 15 Comments
September 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Awww, they sound adorable. Their kids sound pretty funny, too. I’m impressed as can be that they’re living in a one bedroom, though! If I ever have children, I hope I can remember to incorporate laughter and a sense of wonder into our lives the way this family obviously has.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I’m disappointed that they think it’s oh so cute and adorable for their child to just start throwing eggs at a wall. I don’t find their childrens’ behaviors acceptable at ALL. Definitive boundaries need to be in place, especially with young children who won’t know any better unless their parents set limits. What’s to keep their children from doing the same thing at a friend, family member or neighbor’s house?
I’ll say this. If my friend’s child was at my house hitting me, throwing eggs at my walls, etc. that would be the LAST time that child was welcome in my home. Teach your children what is acceptable and not and they will understand. Laughing at it and thinking it’s hysterical just tells them to continue with the behavior. It doesn’t get better, it gets worse. Period.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
MommaK relax. He is 15 months. And, it is kinda funny. Don’t sweat the small stuff. You don’t know how they behave in the company of others. I know my siblings and I were “complete monsters” as my mom used to say at home but we where out in public we were the most well behaved kids..because mom lets us run wild within limits of course and so we didn’t feel the need to do crazy things outside.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
well isn’t that just cute? throwing eggs at the wall!! hmm, if my kid threw eggs at my wall, I sure as heck wouldn’t be laughing. Parenting dervies from the word ‘parent’. Maybe it’s cute in their house, but that surely isn’t what I call Friday night fun.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Karen, do you have children? If my kids threw eggs at the wall, you can bet they’d be cleaning it then they would be punished. I’m sure to you it seems small but it could ruin the paint, anything the egg hit, and plus, it’s disgusting. And encouraging their older child to hit and “attack” their youngest child? I don’t think so. Whatever works for them I guess but there are many more ways to bring laughter and fun into the home and throwing eggs at a wall is not it.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Hey everyone: guess what? These people are COMEDIANS! My guess is that they are making a joke and exaggerating the truth a little bit
Relax!
September 25th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Agreed Lis.People take things too seriously.She is a comedian.Comedians stretch the truth to make things funnier.Plus she said this happened once,she never said this was a everyday occurance.
September 25th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Shelly, would you seriously make a 15-month-old clean up after himself and punish him? He’s still a baby for crying out loud! Lighten up.
September 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
No but I’d make the 3 1/2 year old help. But how about this – how about NOT letting them throw eggs in the first place?
)
September 25th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I agree…they are comedians! They tell stories to be funny, and they probably stretched the truth a bit. They are lots of things my son did when he was a toddler that I probably shouldn’t have found funny…but I did, lol. I always corrected him, but when dealing with small kids, I think you have to have a sense of humor.
September 25th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Shelly, out of curiosity, why would you make the older sister help clean up her brother’s mess? Isn’t that punishing her for something she didn’t do?
I agree that Samantha probably stretched the truth for a laugh. If you watch her on the Daily Show, that’s the kind of humor she uses there. In print it’s a lot harder to tell what’s joking and what’s not, so I understand why people are upset over what she said, but I think it wasn’t a matter of “letting” her kid throw eggs, but more of that he probably got into them when she wasn’t looking and threw them. That’s about the age where kids experiment by throwing/dropping, isn’t it? My son is still in the stick-everything-in-his-mouth state so I don’t know, haha.
September 25th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
My daughter is 15 months old, and pretty laid-back and well-behaved, but she does throw food occasionally, and it can be funny. I’m assuming by the phrase “handful of eggs” that they are cooked (probably scrambled) and not likely to ruin the paint. Playing with food and making a mess is an important part of the learning process for toddlers, and at 15 months, certainly doesn’t warrant punishment, in my opinion. I correct her and redirect her, for sure, but sometimes I laugh, too. (and in our house, it’s more likely that my daughter is dropping food on the floor for the dog than throwing it at the wall)
Also, I’m not reading here that Piper is allowed to hit her brother, or that they are actually encouraging it. My interpretation was that both kids enjoy some chaotic wrestling and horseplay now and then…
Overall, I think that Samantha and Jason sound like loving, fun parents!
September 25th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
was this woman the lady who played Rebecca/Ava in Greys Anatomy or am i mixed up
September 25th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Kids are funny. If you can’t laugh with them, you’ll go insane
respect comes naturally – a home filled with love and laughter will work out the rest. And yes, I have a 3 year old who can both crack me up and make me want to tear my hair out. I enjoy laughing more.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Good Lord! Take it easy, ladies! You’ve got to laugh with your kids! Of course, children need to be taught what is and isn’t acceptable, but how will they figure that out if they don’t test the boundaries? I’ve got 3.5 yr old twins, and we can’t help laughing at some of the things they say and do. When they were still 2 and playing in the living room, I was in the kitchen and my daughter says to my son,”You are really starting to piss me off!” I laughed so hard…she used it in exactly the right context! I told her that isn’t a nice thing to say, I told her mommy and daddy shouldn’t say it either, and she’s never said it again. Have fun and enjoy your babies! I joke with my husband that we need to play, laugh, and cuddle with them now, because before you know it they’ll be 13, screaming “I hate you!”, and slamming their bedroom door!