The other day while my daughter and I were walking to school, she suddenly stopped mid-sentence and asked, "I wonder what those pretend ducks are doing?"
"Pretend ducks?" was my reply because I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"Those pretend ducks, Mama. Up there." She pointed to the electric lines running above the road. "What are they doing up there?"
I just love how she asks questions about everything. It pains me when I hear parents say things like, "Stop asking so many questions," or answer, "It just IS," in response to, "Why?" (even when it is the fifth "why" in the last three minutes.) Good thinkers wonder about the world, and so often we - unintentionally in our busy adult lives - squash that sense of wonder in our little ones. I want to do everything I can to encourage that sense of wonder in my children. I won't always know the answer, but that's O.K.
My daughter now knows that those shapes are there to keep the wires from touching because that would be very dangerous, but she still calls them the pretend ducks. Who am I to argue - they really do have a very ducky shape. Of course, being the complete and total geek that I am, I had to know what they're really called. So I phoned a friend of ours who works for the island electric company. He tells me they're called "spacers," but somehow I like "pretend ducks" better...
"Pretend ducks?" was my reply because I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"Those pretend ducks, Mama. Up there." She pointed to the electric lines running above the road. "What are they doing up there?"
I just love how she asks questions about everything. It pains me when I hear parents say things like, "Stop asking so many questions," or answer, "It just IS," in response to, "Why?" (even when it is the fifth "why" in the last three minutes.) Good thinkers wonder about the world, and so often we - unintentionally in our busy adult lives - squash that sense of wonder in our little ones. I want to do everything I can to encourage that sense of wonder in my children. I won't always know the answer, but that's O.K.
My daughter now knows that those shapes are there to keep the wires from touching because that would be very dangerous, but she still calls them the pretend ducks. Who am I to argue - they really do have a very ducky shape. Of course, being the complete and total geek that I am, I had to know what they're really called. So I phoned a friend of ours who works for the island electric company. He tells me they're called "spacers," but somehow I like "pretend ducks" better...
9 comments:
I think "pretend ducks" is WAY cooler!!! I love the things kids come up with, they have such an interesting way of looking at the world!
Pretend ducks is much much better. It's fun to have kids full of wonder.
Pretend ducks are also very helpful during bad weather. They give each wire the strength of all 4 wires in the cluster, helping minimize electrical outages.
You can also tell her that Mr. and Mrs. ducks' name is "Hendrix", and she will be amazed in 15 years that you knew about Hendrix cables.
Thanks Paul! I am all about knowing interesting things like that.
I agree pretend duck is much better! Kids make you look at things in such a fun way.
My son asks why all day long about EVERYTHING. I have made sure to always answer his questions. Sometimes it is a challenge to make things understandable for him but in the end he has gained so much from it.
The pretend ducks is great. I will never look at them the same again.
They really do look like ducks, don't they. I try not to squash the questions, too.. although I will admit to having said, "I don't know" a little more often than I'd like.
Now thanks to Mr. Paul B. I will always know the name of those cables, just in case my kiddo asks (why my mind hangs onto that stuff I'll never know!)
I couldn't agree more! Never stop asking "Why" even as an adult.
I like "pretend ducks" -- much easier to talk about than "those things on the electric lines." And how neat that she noticed them!
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