Cheetahs and Leopards and Jaguars, Oh My!!!

Kids love to ask questions.  For the longest time, they were answered easily.  We used to be able to get by with answering "Why is the sky blue?" with a simple, "It just is."  Now our son has begun questioning our answers--"But, WHY is it blue?"

I strain to remember my elementary science lessons and bumble my way through an explanation throwing around terms like "prism", "spectrum", and "dissfraction" half-heartedly, hoping to convince him I know what I'm talking about.  I later learn that "dissfraction" is not even a word and that perhaps "refraction" or "reflection" would have served the situation better.  Elementary school was a long time ago.

  Then again, maybe a made-up word like "dissfraction" is easier.

Even worse, now Caleb is beginning to ask questions that I have no idea how to answer.  The other day he asked my wife what the difference was between a jaguar, cheetah, and leopard.  Uhhh.....

It was nice when he wanted to know the difference between any of those three and a tiger.  Spots vs. stripes.  Done and done.  But, all three of those things have spots.  Can you tell which one is which?

Thankfully, we have the internet.  After an extensive, five-second Google search, my wife found that there are many differences between the three, but rather than try to explain differences between ligament structures, rosettes, and spots, it's easier to boil it down to geographical differences.  And for now, this is enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Also, I think that cheetahs look like their make-up is running from too much crying--probably upset about the lack of rosettes.  Cheetahs are a jealous, hormonal bunch.

I don't know how parents answered questions before the internet.  I guess it was easier (and safer) to tell your kids to shut up and go play outside back then.

 This worked for my parents. It's still a great parenting technique.

Recently, the boy has begun asking me questions that even the internet can't help me with.  This morning, while waiting for the bus, he asked me what the difference was between frustration, anger, and fury.

With no internet available at the end of our driveway, I was left to my own resources--never a good thing.  I made up a mad, madder, maddest hierarchy of emotion that he wasn't buying.  He then explained the differences to me:  Frustration was when you were mad but didn't feel like yelling.  Anger is when you wanted to yell but didn't and fury is when you super-magma yelled.

I'm not sure what exactly a super-magma yell sounds like and I don't think I want to know.  After getting him on the bus, I decided to google the question.  The results yielded answers from buddhist forums, psychological websites, and christian sermons.  The answers varied from anger is an illusion, to repressed feelings, to the devil made me do it--none of which are helpful to a 7-year old boy.

The internet usually has the answers to any question, but I guess it can't always make me look smart.