Saturday, June 13, 2009

Domestic Goddess answers Kids Questions

I love my two daughters endlessly. And I love being a mom. I, like most mothers, think my kids are the absolute bestest kids in the whole wide world.

They do not have the perfect mom. And nor are they perfect angels. But we love each other just perfectly.

I am thoroughly enjoying being part of their growing up and learning. I think its amazing how much and how quickly kids learn. But there is a slight dink in this whole process.

Kids, particularly little ones (teenagers are another breed altogether), think their parents know everything. And to fill in the gaps in their knowledge, they ask you questions. Hundreds of them. From the ubiquitious "why?" to the macabre "how does your skin fall off when you are dead?", they just want to know. Everything. Immediately. And you are their mobile encyclopedia.

I love my kids questions. Even the challenging ones. I have answered lots over the past few years. My older daughter is now 6, and my youngest is 2. So I have years of questions ahead of me too.

The questions I have been asked have given me plenty of food for thought. Ponder on some of my favourites and share your answers......

Q: Do sharks eat mermaids?
A: I answered this one as I thought appropriate. No, they don't because mermaids are not real. This answer did not impress my daughter. So she went to Superhero Dad. His answer got her nod approval: No, they don't because King Neptune, who is boss of all the sea, said they weren't allowed to.

Q: What is your soul?
A: This took some thought. So eventually I settled on the answer that your soul is your thinking and believing part. She was happy with that.

Q: Are fairies real?
A: Having learnt my lesson from the sharks & mermaids issue, I said that fairies are real for children, but not so real for grown-ups. This was met with a quizzical stare by Older Daughter. She is 6, and they are learning about the difference between fiction and non-fiction at school. I don't think she's made up her mind yet. I'd hate her to lose that little bit of imagination, because when you stop believing in fairies and Father Christmas, its a sure sign that the innocence of childhood is on its way out. And thats rather sad.

Q: Why does macaroni have a hole in the middle?
A: I couldn't just say its because thats the way its always been done, as it sounds rather bland, and would certainly have prompted another round of why's from the 2 year old who asked it. So my answer was simple: to let the taste through. Satisfied, Youngest Daughter finished her supper.

Q: Are aliens real?
A: I decided to be honest. I said that the ones on TV definitely weren't real, but nobody knew for definite if other creatures lived out in space on the zillions of planets in space. I told her I really wasn't sure, and if there were some out there, that they were very far away, and wouldn't bother us much. They had their own planet to look after. And I reminded her that the ones on TV definitely were not real, but that it was fun to imagine that they could be real.

I'm always curious as to what question will come up next. Sometimes they are so simple, and other times so difficult. What questions have you been asked?

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