Pass it on!
Last night Three and Four were having an unusually intense discussion about what they had learned that day. They knew I was there, because they would pepper me with occasional questions, so I was not eavesdropping, but I definitely felt more like an observer than a participant in this one.
Apparently they had learned about dinosaurs earlier in the day. Four asked me why there were no more dinosaurs. I thought for a minute, because when the 5 year old asks me questions like this, I always try and think of a clear way of stating the answer. I don’t mean I dumb it down, I try not to do that, but I do try and think of a clear, simple way to state my answer. (Ideally my explanation would be so concise and on point that it would also nip all 78 follow up questions in the bud.) But I also started to wonder, why are there no more dinosaurs?
This pause lasted just long enough for me to forfeit my answer, Three, thinking I am at a loss, steps up to take the query. “Well”, she says with absolute authority, “because dinosaurs were alive during old-fashioned times, and we aren’t in old-fashioned times anymore so they are all dead.”
Four kind of nods her head, takes a breath, looks like she is about to ask a question, then stops and nods again in acceptance of that answer. Three had just done something I have never done: given Four an answer that completely satisfied her immediate question without giving rise to a slew of follow-ups.
Then Four says to Three, “you know, when mommy and daddy were kids, they had to watch out for dinosaurs.”
I told them that was not a nice thing to say about their grandparents.
Apparently they had learned about dinosaurs earlier in the day. Four asked me why there were no more dinosaurs. I thought for a minute, because when the 5 year old asks me questions like this, I always try and think of a clear way of stating the answer. I don’t mean I dumb it down, I try not to do that, but I do try and think of a clear, simple way to state my answer. (Ideally my explanation would be so concise and on point that it would also nip all 78 follow up questions in the bud.) But I also started to wonder, why are there no more dinosaurs?
This pause lasted just long enough for me to forfeit my answer, Three, thinking I am at a loss, steps up to take the query. “Well”, she says with absolute authority, “because dinosaurs were alive during old-fashioned times, and we aren’t in old-fashioned times anymore so they are all dead.”
Four kind of nods her head, takes a breath, looks like she is about to ask a question, then stops and nods again in acceptance of that answer. Three had just done something I have never done: given Four an answer that completely satisfied her immediate question without giving rise to a slew of follow-ups.
Then Four says to Three, “you know, when mommy and daddy were kids, they had to watch out for dinosaurs.”
I told them that was not a nice thing to say about their grandparents.
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What a wise girl you have there.
How did you manage to dodge those T-Rexs anyway?