Little Logic

Every parent knows that it is impossible to reason with a child under age four.  Toddlers do what they want to do when they want to do it, and we, as parents, are there to stand guard and keep them alive.  But once they are four or five, they can begin to understand logic.

Cael, for example, understood at age four that if he cleaned up the toys, he would get a treat.  If he didn't clean up the toys, Mommy would clean up the toys and within an hour she'd forget about the deal and give him a treat anyway. 

It wasn't until he was five that I trained myself. 

So, despite Cael's strong-willed nature, I can often use logic to explain situations and behaviors in a way that he can understand.  But every once in a while, that logic just doesn't sink in.

"Here is your pizza, Cael." 

"And here is yours, Graham.  I cut it in half for you so that it wouldn't be so hard to handle." 

"But Mom, he got two!"

"No, he didn't get two.  He got the same amount in two pieces." 

"That's not right. He has two pieces of pizza."

"Yes, but they are half as big."

"But that's twice as good!"

Sometimes being the only adult in the house means that the boys' bizarre logic starts to make sense after a while, and I find myself explaining to Joel that he can't use my towel because "I had it first!" or because it's my "most favoritest ever!", but this time I wasn't buying Cael's botched math.  Maybe what he needed was a different visual aid.

"Look at it with a cookie, okay?  One whole cookie is the same amount of cookie as two halves."

"Or even four pieces.  Because no matter how many pieces I have, it's still the same as one regular cookie."

"So if I have ten cookies, it's the same as one cookie?  Then I want ONE cookie in TEN cookie-sized cookie pieces, Mom!"

As much as I wish that were the case, and I could cheat my calorie-counter app with that sort of disjointed logic, my grown-up logic couldn't work it out.

But if I melted down a pint of ice cream, there'd be no way to know for sure, right?...