Conversations with a 4 year old are always interesting. Conversations with a 4 year old know-it-all are challenging. You cannot tell her that she is wrong as she will counter that by saying that on her Earth it is true. (Currently she resides on a number of different Earths, including Poison Earth, Butterfly Earth and Fairy Earth.) It is easier to let the story she is telling wander in the direction she has planned rather than interject and enter into an irrational argument.
When girl-child claimed that she knew what made farts, I thought I should try and listen. The conversation went something like this…
girl-child says, ‘I know what makes farts.’
Not really paying much attention, I say, ‘hmmm?’
‘Well it is bubbles of smelly gas in your botty (g-c speak for body not bottom)… Then when it is time for the gas to come outside of your botty the air comes out of the bubble and it lets the smell out. If it is a big bubble of smelly gas, sometimes you have to pop the bubble.’
How do you respond to a statement like that? First you noncommittally say ‘Oh,’ (then stupidly say) ‘How?’
‘You just have to poke the bubbles with your hand (she demonstrates poking at her bottom) and that makes the loud noise and then the smell comes out!’
Oh the logic of a 4 year old. Fortunately she wasn’t wanting anything other than confirmation that what she said might just be plausible so I got away with saying something lame like, ‘Is that what happens on your Earth?’ That way I didn’t have to get into a biology lesson with her.
