Favourite little kid encounter of the day

[jeshyr]

Four year old-ish kid holding Mum's hand, visibly shy but wanting to ask me something. We're waiting for the pedestrian lights to cross so I said "hi". She's looking with big eyes at my large reclining power wheelchair, as most kids do.

Eventually she plucks up the courage to speak up, "Is that your iPhone?" pointing to the iPhone that sits on the mount so it's right near my hand and clearly visible, "It's RIGHT THERE for you!"

We had a lovely conversation about how I could watch movies on the bus and everything.

Kids are so awesome!


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Comments

[acelightning]

in the US, it's very common for children even as old as three or four to sometimes ride in a "stroller", so that parents don't have to carry the kid around when zie gets too tired to walk. when my own son was about that age, we were in some public space where we happened to see a woman in a traditional wheelchair. my son, in his own stroller, asked, very loudly, "why is that lady in a stroller?" i had to suppress a laugh, because i instantly realized that a wheelchair does look a lot like a stroller, except for the handles. the woman heard, and she did laugh, and told us that it was the first time anybody had ever mentioned the similarity. "i ride in my wheelchair because i had a disease that hurt my legs, and now it's very hard for me to walk." (it was a manual chair, and she had arms like a wrestler!) i really appreciated her matter-of-factness.

kids just get right to the core of things, which is great, except for when it offends some tight-ass :-D

[jeshyr]

I've had a few kids say that too - they do look a bit similar.

My one-sentence for kids is actually something like "I get really really tired like a little baby who just learned to walk but has to sit in the stroller[*] mostly". Most kids either have siblings or know little kids from school, so it works well.


[*] Except we call them 'pushers' generally. But same thing.

[acelightning]

depending on the child, that could generate quite a few more questions... children in general are very good at asking questions, of course. but they're also very good at accepting things once they've gotten an explanation.

[jeshyr]

Part of the reason I use it is because it generates questions - I love talking to kids :)

If I'm really tired and don't want to explain properly I just say "my legs don't work" or something, but I hate perpetuating the stupid myth/misunderstanding that people who use wheelchairs can't walk.

[acelightning]

um, some equivalent to "just like a baby or an old person, if i walk more than a very little bit, i get too tired to walk at all"? (i.e., something that splits the difference between a short but inaccurate answer, and a long explanation.)

[jadelennox]

That's adorable and awesome.