My son, the perfect house guest

Yes, it's really true. Since the children have been back to school, Monkey has been a child in demand. He's been out to tea twice after school and to his first ever sleepover, admittedly to one of the friends who invited him back for tea. That's not bad, considering the school term is only three weeks old.

Butter wouldn't melt, eh?

It has become apparent that he is very popular with his friend's parents. I went to collect him from the first friend and the mum said "He's the quietest child we have had round to play." To which I slightly snorted, "He can come back anytime". After I collected him from the same house a few days later after his sleepover, I asked how much sleep he had got and the mum admitted to me that he'd wanted to go to sleep first but had been kept awake by some of the louder ones.

Then a day or so later, he got invited to another friend's house that he has visited a few times. He even got to choose what they ate - heaven for a boy who loves his food. Not that he is picky, because once again, when I went to pick him up, the mum said how much she loves how well he eats everything given to him. Then, the next morning, the mum came up to me and said, "I just love how laid back Monkey is". I snorted again and said that I thought that he and her son are a good combination as he and another friend can squabble like an old married couple, because they are just so similar.

Still, I'm wondering who is this child they're describing. I recognise the child that eats everything put in front of him because he's always been a brilliant eater, for which I have always been very thankful. But laid back? Quiet? Is this really Monkey or does a replicant take his form and go in his place? The Monkey I know after school normally has a very set idea of EXACTLY what he wants and tries to argue to get it until he melts down, my patience runs out, or both.

I am not however complaining. I think he's a pragmatist (not that he knows what one of those is). He knows if he is an angel, he'll get to go back and he enjoys the novelty of playing with someone else's toys, eating someone else's food and playing in someone else's bedroom. So, he becomes the perfect house guest. Parents think he's wonderful, children think he's a good friend (which he is generally). Not a word out of place, not a morsel of food refused. It's like he swallowed an etiquette guide. He might eat all your food though.

 I'd just love it if he could be as angelic for me. I'd do a vlog of his after school behaviour but I'd be afraid to publish it in case the other mums saw the real Monkey and his social life dried up! And I'd rather he be good for them and bad at home than the other way around. I just have a lot of invites to reciprocate now!

Is your child the perfect house guest? Do they morph into an angel as they step into a friend's house or are they just the same? Is Monkey a typical child for his age? Do tell me, I'd love to know.