What's going on in there?

I don't have any kids of my own, but I have plenty of friends with kids. So it was a few years ago, when the first of my pseudo-nieces and nephews started entering toddlerhood, that I began to hear the phrase, "use your inside voice." Piercing screams would gang up with banging blocks and toy pianos, resulting in instant migranes and increased blood pressure for any adult within earshot. This would immediately be followed by mom's or dad's shushing finger over the lips and a stern, "use your INSIDE voice."

And I have to admit, the first few times I heard this phrase, I completely misunderstood its meaning. "Inside voice," I decided, must refer to that voice we all have inside ourselves -- conscience, if you will -- the voice that quietly tells us what's right and what's wrong and what we should be doing with our lives and whether or not we should have an extra piece of chocolate cake for dessert. And surely your inside voice would tell you it is NOT right to throw Elmo onto the kitchen table in the middle of lunch and then squeal in delight as Elmo's head makes direct contact with an extremely unstable bowl of vegetable soup. Of course, eventually I figured out that the actual meaning of "inside voice" in this case was much more simple. It's just the voice you'd use inside a building as opposed to outside a building. I imagine if someone explained this to me, it would sound something like this:

Me: I love how those parents just told their son to use his inside voice. I mean, you're never too young to start some serious introspection, you know?

Someone else: Uh, Lisa, they're talking about INSIDE the house. They don't want him yelling in here.

Me: Inside the house? But that's so much less profound.

Someone else: The kid is two years old.

Me: Touche.

Okay, so "inside voice" in the case of children isn't about some sort of existential reflection. But I wonder, sometimes, why that was the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard it. Is it because I spend so much time inside my OWN head, sorting out the things my "inside voice" is saying? I turn thoughts over and scrutinize each one, as if every small corner of my mind holds a puzzle, and solving it is of utmost importance. I suppose I never should've expected a two-year-old to sit quietly in one of those tiny little kid-sized overstuffed chairs, journal in hand, actively pursuing his "inside voice" and writing down all his enlightened insight in shaky aquamarine crayon. Not that it'd be such a bad thing -- mom and dad would have peace and quiet, and the kid would end up with really good handwriting and a journal full of preschool angst (is there such a thing as preschool angst?? "Mom and dad are making me sit in the corner and use my inside voice again...").

Anyway, I suppose we all use some sort of "inside voice" now and then. Some could probably benfit from using it a little more often, and some of us could benefit from telling it to shut up now and then. As long as I'm listening to mine, I'll probably just keep writing. And if I ever have kids, they're really gonna have to watch out for that "inside voice" phrase. Crayons and journals will be at the ready...