Riddles are Dumb

A riddle from 3 SAIT cooks

What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg

Thanks for teaching me one million nursery rhymes.

That was the message that Bonnie emailed me a view weeks ago.

I still had that thanks on my mind as I saw a short video of Catherine doing riddles with Hebe.

Trying to teach Hebe the same number of riddles, (one million, metaphorically speaking) I am amazed at how the motivation for doing something like this can be so strong in a mother.

The goal for an adult is sometimes not to be bored, when teaching something to children.

Many riddles do seem dumb to children.

And maybe especially the ones that Catherine is telling Hebe.

Take this one for example:

Riddle:
What do ghosts serve for dessert?
Answer:  I scream

Question: What is Santa Claus’s favourite measurement in the metric system.

Answer: Santa-metre.

Now Catherine had to remind Hebe what a centimeter is, and then how much that word sounds like Santa metre.

By the time Catherine had explained all of that, it would seem that there isn’t much to laugh about. 

That is the way with riddles.

At least for me. Riddles is not the way my brain works, nor thinks that something is funny.

You might make this at Christmas 
So that you can stuff your face 
A cake, icing and candy 
An edible dwelling place

What am I?

Answer:  A Gingerbread House

Still I went out to the web to read up on Christmas riddles just so that I will be ready to do the same “dumb” jokes on little people as I meet them this season.

For me it is not about the cleverness (or stupidity) of the joke.

It is all about learning how sounds in the English language can be so close together, sometimes even associative and maybe a bit funny.

Just a little bit.

Someday someone may thank a parent for all of the work to teach that.

But the thanks for this will be a long way down the road for Hebe. Still – from me to you, Catherine, thanks again for reminding me how complicating parenting is.

Arta