CONVERSATIONS WITH KIDS
Your Size Doesn’t Determine The Volume of Your Voice
I lost in a screaming competition with a 5 and 7-year-old
Volume and size are mutually exclusive. Have you ever met a baby? Guesses are, their tiny lungs are louder than yours. It’s like the sound is larger than they are, which only makes it more powerful.
But how? Or maybe the real question is when? When do we lose our power? Why do our bodies grow, but our volume shrinks?
(Conversation adapted from Portuguese)
Standing in the garden of the 5 and 7-year-old’s farmhouse. It’s 17:00 and they still have energy. I am starting to run low. I have an idea.
Me: why don’t we play a new game?
5 and 7-year-old: (eagerly stand around me, waiting to hear what fun activity we will be doing next) Yaaaaaay!
Me: It’s called the screaming game. Whoever screams the loudest, wins.
5 and 7-year-old: (thrilled) Yaaaaay! Can I start?! Can I start?!
7-year-old: (belts out until her cheeks turn pink, then cracks up laughing.)
5-year-old: (looks at her sister with a cheeky ‘I-can-top-that’ smile, then closes her hands into fists, straightens her body…
