"dot com"

How to speak to a small child is something I still struggle with. I think my husband struggles with it too, but in his own special Einsteinian way.

For example, when asked who the funny looking guy on the outside of the Lucky Charms cereal box is, I respond with, "He's a um...umm...Leprechaun! From Ireland. He's good luck...or something."

My husband responds with reciting verbatim the legend of the Irish Leprechaun, including when and where the story originated. That may be exaggerating a bit, but just a tiny bit. You get the idea.

Both of our answers get the same response from Little Miss (a.k.a. The Four Year Old). This is a slight tilt of the head, awkward silence, and then finally an "oh" followed by a sigh. I fear when she gets older she may add, "Why do I even bother?" to this little routine.

I was really struck by how I need to work on my communication skills with Little Miss the other night.

We were over at a friend's house when my friend's youngest daughter (slightly older than The Four Year Old) stepped out on to her porch and uttered a shriek.

Little Miss immediately demanded to know what was wrong with her friend.

"She stepped on a sticker," my husband explained.

Well, I know that in Little Miss vocabulary the word "sticker" refers to something that has a cute picture on the front and sticky stuff on the back. Hardly worth a yelp.

I attempted to clarify the multiple meaning word for my child.

"Not a sticker sticker. Not like you get from Miss Jackie to put on your shirt when you do a good job. It's a pokey sticker. The kind you find on the ground and step on."

I got the typical quizzical reaction. Not being one to give up easily, I tried again.

"You know, a pokey thingy that comes from a tree or bush and can give you an ouchie."

There was silence as we loaded my kids into the car. I'm sure The Four Year Old was trying to process what I had said.

As we were driving home, a small voice came from the back seat.

Little Miss said, "Well, if I need to know more about pokey stickers, I guess I can go to pokey stickers dot com on the computer."

I didn't know if I was relieved my child already knows there are other resources out there that may have a better answer than her parents, or frightened. Either way, I better find "how to speak to a four year old dot com" quick.