Taking a break from all of the 'inspiring novelties' outside.Anyone with kids, or anyone who has been around kids for any length of time knows that the questions are never ending. The word 'why' is used, on average, about 1, 327 times a day. Ignoring the question will only serve to make the child much more interested in the answer than they were before. Telling them to go ask someone else is a fairly decent diversionary tactic, but only works about 1/10 th of the time. Telling them to find the answer themselves will only drag you into the process. Bottom line, there is no easy way to duck questions.
I could handle this if I actually knew the answer to the questions I'm being asked. Sadly, the brutal truth is, 99% of the questions Taylor asks these days I have absolutely no answer for. Even worse, I am the world's worst bluffer. I cannot make something up and pass it off as feasible. Because of this I now dread long rides in the car or waiting in line at Whole Foods. I once loved the one-on-one time with Taylor, but I now have a strong aversion to being anywhere with her where she has the opportunity to think very long. It inevitably turns into a discussion about something I am in no way prepared for.
I'm curious to see if you agree with me. Take a look at the three questions that left me in a sweat today and ponder how to properly answer.
Question 1: "Mom, why won't the Build-A-Bear website let me use the name Pussy Cat? Is it the first part or the last part?"
Well, I know what you're thinking. This question has an extremely easy answer. There is definitely a great reason why a kid's website will not allow the first word to be used. But how do you explain this to a 6-year old? I tried several bluffs, including 'too long', 'someone else used it already' and 'you need to spell it differently' all to no avail. I finally pleaded ignorance and she let it drop.
Question 2: "Mom, Isaiah told me a story about how these birds called storks bring babies to moms and dads. How does the stork get them in there?"
To clear up any confusion, Taylor knows all of the details about where babies grow--in mommies' tummies. She is completely confused by the tale of stork deliveries because she can't figure out how the stork gets the baby into the mommy's tummy! This was priceless, but I couldn't laugh. We've spent a lot of time looking at the book A Child Is Born and had tons of talks about parts, how a baby grows and what mommy does at work. We have not yet had a specific talk about how babies get in there in the first place! I did get her convinced that storks have nothing to do with it (much to her relief) but that was as far as the discussion went. For now.
Question 3: "Why do I have to stop looking for my inspiring novelties right now?"
If you thought, "WHAT??" to reading that last question, then you had exactly the same response I did. So I asked her. She calmly explained to me that she was using some of her outdoor time to find inspiring novelties. I asked her what inspiring novelties were and she said, "You know. Really awesome things that make your heart happy." Well. After that answer I really didn't have the heart to keep nagging her about cleaning her snack things out of the tent in the backyard. I have no idea where she got the words from, or how she knows what they mean. And it really doesn't matter. This was one question I was very happy to have no answer to.
Kristin
I could handle this if I actually knew the answer to the questions I'm being asked. Sadly, the brutal truth is, 99% of the questions Taylor asks these days I have absolutely no answer for. Even worse, I am the world's worst bluffer. I cannot make something up and pass it off as feasible. Because of this I now dread long rides in the car or waiting in line at Whole Foods. I once loved the one-on-one time with Taylor, but I now have a strong aversion to being anywhere with her where she has the opportunity to think very long. It inevitably turns into a discussion about something I am in no way prepared for.
I'm curious to see if you agree with me. Take a look at the three questions that left me in a sweat today and ponder how to properly answer.
Question 1: "Mom, why won't the Build-A-Bear website let me use the name Pussy Cat? Is it the first part or the last part?"
Well, I know what you're thinking. This question has an extremely easy answer. There is definitely a great reason why a kid's website will not allow the first word to be used. But how do you explain this to a 6-year old? I tried several bluffs, including 'too long', 'someone else used it already' and 'you need to spell it differently' all to no avail. I finally pleaded ignorance and she let it drop.
Question 2: "Mom, Isaiah told me a story about how these birds called storks bring babies to moms and dads. How does the stork get them in there?"
To clear up any confusion, Taylor knows all of the details about where babies grow--in mommies' tummies. She is completely confused by the tale of stork deliveries because she can't figure out how the stork gets the baby into the mommy's tummy! This was priceless, but I couldn't laugh. We've spent a lot of time looking at the book A Child Is Born and had tons of talks about parts, how a baby grows and what mommy does at work. We have not yet had a specific talk about how babies get in there in the first place! I did get her convinced that storks have nothing to do with it (much to her relief) but that was as far as the discussion went. For now.
Question 3: "Why do I have to stop looking for my inspiring novelties right now?"
If you thought, "WHAT??" to reading that last question, then you had exactly the same response I did. So I asked her. She calmly explained to me that she was using some of her outdoor time to find inspiring novelties. I asked her what inspiring novelties were and she said, "You know. Really awesome things that make your heart happy." Well. After that answer I really didn't have the heart to keep nagging her about cleaning her snack things out of the tent in the backyard. I have no idea where she got the words from, or how she knows what they mean. And it really doesn't matter. This was one question I was very happy to have no answer to.
Kristin