The toddler is at the stage where he questions e v e r y t h i n g.
Hitting the “BUT, WHY?” stage bang in the middle of lockdown has been brutal, let me tell you.
Recently, his questions all seem to have revolved around water.
- “Where does it come from?” (Brushing teeth)
- “What happens to it?” (After a bath)
- “Where’s it going?” (Watching the river)
So last time we were throwing pebbles off the bridge on our daily walk, I channelled my inner CBeebies presenter and patiently explained the basic water cycle, in terms that I was confident could be understood by a 2.5 yr old.
He smiled as I described how the rain makes tiny streams that run down off the hills, and he listened understandingly as I explained how the small streams join together to make slightly bigger streams.
He had already anticipated the next part, where the streams come together to form rivers and he was positively nodding along when I told him how small rivers merge together and become bigger rivers, and those even larger rivers make their way to the sea.
We were practically writing a joint dissertation by the time we chatted about evaporation, and the clouds that rise and cool over the hills to begin raining once again.
We ran through it a couple of times and he confirmed that he understood the process.
“What a precocious little genius I am nurturing” I thought smugly to myself on the way home.
We burst into the house and proudly called for Mr W to come and listen to what we’d learned.
“Go ahead darling, tell Daddy all about where rivers come from!”
“Remember, sweetheart? Start with the clouds. The clouds make…?”
“Erm… er… they…I … Puddles.”
“Well, yes I suppose so sweetie pie. But tell Dad what else happens. What happens to the puddles and the streams?”
…
[Thinks for a while]
…
“The little water makes big water and goes to the beach.”
F*ck it.
Close enough.
