I don't have a five-year-old... or an anything-year-old; I'm only an uncle. However, a close lady-friend of mine has an adorable little girl who is five (we'll call her Tomato).
One day, we were in the grocery store and I was pushing Tomato in the cart. We came to the produce section and passed the bags of potatoes, whereupon Tomato... well, here it is in script form.
Tomato: (gasp) Look, mashed potatoes!
Roland: Actually, those aren't mashed yet. They're just potatoes.
Tomato: Oh, they're not mashed because they're brown?
Roland: Well, yeah, they still have their skins. They have to be peeled before they can be mashed. Say, can you spell potato?
CUT TO later, when we join up with Tomato's mom (we'll call her Momato), who's buying cookies at the bakery.
Roland: Did you know she can't spell potato?
(background: Like I said, I don't have kids of my own, and my memories of life before the age of 7-ish are blurred to where I remember dreams I had when I was three more vividly than stuff that actually happened to me when I was six. As a result, along with all the stuff I read about ADHD and learning disabilities and No Child Left Behind, I have no concept of what a child is supposed to know by what age. Typically, most of my questions to Momato along these lines are answered with, "She's five." as in she's not old enough to know that word or that person or that concept. That said...)
Momato: She's fi---
Roland: Hang on, let me tell you how she TRIED to spell it.
FLASHBACK TO earlier, at the produce section.
Roland: ... Say, can you spell potato?
Tomato: Um... B.
Roland: No, P.
Tomato: B P.
Roland: No, honey, just P.
Tomato: P... mashed... (throws arms up) Teeeeeee!
Roland: Honey, mashed isn't a letter. It's a word.
Tomato: (giggles)
FADE OUT
Okay, Momato did offer the possible explanation that she was just being silly. I asked Tomato again to spell it for her mom and the result was the same, except B replaced P after all. To be fair, the B and P thing is probably just a matter of diction; this is a girl who says "jirsty" instead of "thirsty" after all. Anyway, the whole thing still bothers me, so I'll put the question here.
One day, we were in the grocery store and I was pushing Tomato in the cart. We came to the produce section and passed the bags of potatoes, whereupon Tomato... well, here it is in script form.
Tomato: (gasp) Look, mashed potatoes!
Roland: Actually, those aren't mashed yet. They're just potatoes.
Tomato: Oh, they're not mashed because they're brown?
Roland: Well, yeah, they still have their skins. They have to be peeled before they can be mashed. Say, can you spell potato?
CUT TO later, when we join up with Tomato's mom (we'll call her Momato), who's buying cookies at the bakery.
Roland: Did you know she can't spell potato?
(background: Like I said, I don't have kids of my own, and my memories of life before the age of 7-ish are blurred to where I remember dreams I had when I was three more vividly than stuff that actually happened to me when I was six. As a result, along with all the stuff I read about ADHD and learning disabilities and No Child Left Behind, I have no concept of what a child is supposed to know by what age. Typically, most of my questions to Momato along these lines are answered with, "She's five." as in she's not old enough to know that word or that person or that concept. That said...)
Momato: She's fi---
Roland: Hang on, let me tell you how she TRIED to spell it.
FLASHBACK TO earlier, at the produce section.
Roland: ... Say, can you spell potato?
Tomato: Um... B.
Roland: No, P.
Tomato: B P.
Roland: No, honey, just P.
Tomato: P... mashed... (throws arms up) Teeeeeee!
Roland: Honey, mashed isn't a letter. It's a word.
Tomato: (giggles)
FADE OUT
Okay, Momato did offer the possible explanation that she was just being silly. I asked Tomato again to spell it for her mom and the result was the same, except B replaced P after all. To be fair, the B and P thing is probably just a matter of diction; this is a girl who says "jirsty" instead of "thirsty" after all. Anyway, the whole thing still bothers me, so I'll put the question here.
