The Mind of A Six-Year-Old

[Palanan]

I could use some input from Playgrounders with kids, especially six-year-olds.

I’m dealing with a manuscript which has a six-year-old confusing a statue with a real person, and trying to use band-aids to heal the statue.

My question is, would this be reasonable for a six-year-old? I could easily see this for a two- or three-year-old, but I’d think that by the age of six a child can tell the difference between a statue and a real person. I know I could, but I was a weird kid.

So, what say you, Playground parents? Would a six-year-old honestly think that band-aids could heal a stone statue?

[Rockphed]

I could use some input from Playgrounders with kids, especially six-year-olds.

I’m dealing with a manuscript which has a six-year-old confusing a statue with a real person, and trying to use band-aids to heal the statue.

My question is, would this be reasonable for a six-year-old? I could easily see this for a two- or three-year-old, but I’d think that by the age of six a child can tell the difference between a statue and a real person. I know I could, but I was a weird kid.

So, what say you, Playground parents? Would a six-year-old honestly think that band-aids could heal a stone statue?

Based on my children? No, but she might put bandaids on the statue and say she was healing it. And not just one or 2 bandaids, the whole box. And slather it in antibiotic ointment. The three-year-old would definitely apply bandaids to statuary.

[Peelee]

Would a six-year-old confuse a statue for a real person? Probably not. Except in an "I'm scared of it" or "what if it comes to life" way.

Would a six-year-old do it anyway thinking it would heal the statue? Absolutely plausible.

[Rockphed]

For reference, last night I had to say yell, "wolves have to sleep outside," in order to get my children to stop howling.

[JeenLeen]

If the statue was very realistic and life-like (e.g., not obviously stone), then I could see mistaking it. But it'd probably need to be life-like enough that an adult might mistake it at first glance, and I assume you mean a more common statue.

From my own vague memories of childhood, and from watching my kids (not quite 6, but close), I feel like a child might think they think a band-aid would heal a person or statue, but know inwardly that it won't really. Sort of a half-conscious knowledge that they are pretending, but yet thinking it real.

The context might also matter. If it's a child in some fearful situation, I think they are probably more likely to do something utilizing imagination/fantasy in hopes of things getting better. So, for example, a child lost in the woods or something seeing a broken statue might have more reason to try to heal it than a child, say, walking through the park with their parents and seeing a similar statue.

But, in short, I agree with Peelee's assessment.

[Brother Oni]

Would a six-year-old confuse a statue for a real person? Probably not. Except in an "I'm scared of it" or "what if it comes to life" way.

Would a six-year-old do it anyway thinking it would heal the statue? Absolutely plausible.

I definitely agree with this. Most small children are very self centered; whenever they get a scratch, Mummy would put a plaster on the scratch and it would get better, so if the statue was cracked and they wanted it to 'get better', then they would do the same thing (and probably slather antiseptic cream like you'd use polyfiller).

Note that self centered doesn't mean selfish - a small child on seeing his father upset, would probably give him their favourite teddy bear as that's what makes them happy when they're upset.

[Peelee]

For reference, last night I had to say yell, "wolves have to sleep outside," in order to get my children to stop howling.

You misspelled "in order to get them to sleep outside."

[Rockphed]

You misspelled "in order to get them to sleep outside."

They stopped howling after I made that threat. Take it as you will.

[Asmotherion]

Dude, my 3.5 year old speaks and writes in 2 languages, starting a 3rd one and knows multiplications. I know it's an extreamly bright child for her age, but still, children are not stupid. I could see a six year old doing that as part of a game, or by projecting it's imaginary frind to the statue, but it knows this stuff is made of stone. Perhaps a child with slight mental disability would be naive enough to actually confuse it for a person, but not one with average intelect.

[Mith]

Since this is a sort of collection of "**** kids do." I am reminded of putting a tin roof on a play house for my aunt and uncle's grandkids, and we had putty strips for sealing. Said grand son took a whole roll of the putty strip to a tree stump of a tree that was blown over the previous year (so he remembered that it used to be a proper tree) and bandaged up the stump really well. Didn't miss a single spot.

I believe that we were very thankful for buying spare supplies that day.

[Peelee]

Dude, my 3.5 year old speaks and writes in 2 languages, starting a 3rd one and knows multiplications. I know it's an extreamly bright child for her age, but still, children are not stupid. I could see a six year old doing that as part of a game, or by projecting it's imaginary frind to the statue, but it knows this stuff is made of stone. Perhaps a child with slight mental disability would be naive enough to actually confuse it for a person, but not one with average intelect.

Does your 3.5-year-old also believe that raindeer fly a man to every child in the world in a single night? It's definitely possible for a kid 30 months older to believe a band-aid can fix a statue. Knowing languages is a completely separate thing and is not relevant here.

[Asmotherion]

Does your 3.5-year-old also believe that raindeer fly a man to every child in the world in a single night? It's definitely possible for a kid 30 months older to believe a band-aid can fix a statue. Knowing languages is a completely separate thing and is not relevant here.

I suppose... yet it seems kind of a strech.

[Rogar Demonblud]

It really depends on how far the child has gone building a mental model of the world. One who has more experiences seeing statues are more likely to see them as an object than as a person.

[Aedilred]

Does your 3.5-year-old also believe that raindeer fly a man to every child in the world in a single night? It's definitely possible for a kid 30 months older to believe a band-aid can fix a statue. Knowing languages is a completely separate thing and is not relevant here.

I don't know - I think this may come back to what JeenLeen said. In my experience - albeit I am not a parent so that experience is limited - children are capable of being simultaneously quite gullible but also quite sceptical and perceptive. The classic "kids say the funniest things" routines are often founded in the ability of children to see things and make logical connections that adults have got into the habit of ignoring or overlooking. (The rest are usually just "child hasn't yet learned what it's not polite to say").

Maybe not at the age of three and a half but I think by age six the majority of children who believe in Santa do so by choice, albeit maybe not a conscious one. On some level they know it doesn't make sense, but they're willing to go along with it because they don't want to confront the alternative explanations. My parents went to absurd lengths to maintain the illusion, but they did so partly because they knew I was on some level looking for evidence of the lie.


Something I've found curious is the way that the American Santa, at least as portrayed in TV Christmas episodes and the like, differs from the Father Christmas of my youth. Both have similar characteristics but the way "Santa" is approached is somehow slightly less believable.

For instance, our Father Christmas lived in Lapland, as opposed to Santa living at the North Pole. To an alert child, "the North Pole" raises a lot of questions. Which pole, true north or magnetic north? Haven't people been to the north pole? Why didn't they see his house? Why doesn't it show up in photos of explorers there, or on Google Maps? There isn't even any land at the North Pole, just ice, etc. Lapland, by contrast, is big and vague and real enough that you can say "somewhere in Lapland, nobody knows where".

And then there's the diet. Santa - as I understand it - has milk and cookies left out for him, which is what a child would want. In our house at least, Father Christmas got a mince pie and a glass of sherry: what an adult would want. Part of that was probably for the benefit of my dad, but it also helped contribute to the image of an actual person with a mindset different to that of a child.

This is probably partly anti-American snobbery on my part, and probably also a slightt sadness at seeing my childhood traditions gradually eroded and homogenised by the flood of American media to the extent. But I do think that the modern/American Santa is a slightly more fantastic, less believable figure, less relatable and somehow less rooted in the real world. Or maybe that's just nostalgia on my part.

[Peelee]

A.) the Santa bit was a quick and easy example. There are countless others.

2.)

To an alert child, "the North Pole" raises a lot of questions. Which pole, true north or magnetic north?

That is one hell of a precocious six-year-old.

[Rockphed]

A.) the Santa bit was a quick and easy example. There are countless others.

2.)
That is one hell of a precocious six-year-old.

My six-year-old can't read a map (or read much of anything for that matter). She definitely doesn't know that there are multiple north poles.

[Spore]

I don't have children but as far as I can remember, I started making up my own stories with 5 or 6. "What if the statue came to life right now. It would be hurting." Then again, I was aware this was a narrative in my head, and while I would believe a statue coming to life was possible, I knew that I would be in trouble for wasting our medical cabinet for my game.

There is more to a kid's imagination and games than pure fantasy, I'm afraid. General upbringing, certain bans (do not touch the oven, keep away from the cleaning cabinet etc.) and general approach to hurting people (do not go near this bleeding person, help anyone in need, prevent problems, save medicine by only using it as a last resort).

Imagination runs wild until a certain age, but a 6 y/o would know to temper this. I can totally see a free-spirited child still doing this though.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And then there's the diet. Santa - as I understand it - has milk and cookies left out for him, which is what a child would want. In our house at least, Father Christmas got a mince pie and a glass of sherry: what an adult would want. Part of that was probably for the benefit of my dad, but it also helped contribute to the image of an actual person with a mindset different to that of a child.

Funny. When I was a kid, it was understood that Santa got a pot pie and a cold beer. I don't think I thought about how he got a hot meal and a cold beer until I was about six or seven.

[Durkoala]

For instance, our Father Christmas lived in Lapland, as opposed to Santa living at the North Pole. To an alert child, "the North Pole" raises a lot of questions. Which pole, true north or magnetic north? Haven't people been to the north pole? Why didn't they see his house? Why doesn't it show up in photos of explorers there, or on Google Maps? There isn't even any land at the North Pole, just ice, etc. Lapland, by contrast, is big and vague and real enough that you can say "somewhere in Lapland, nobody knows where".

I also grew up* in Britan and Father Christmas's address was frequently (but not always) said to be at the North Pole. I always assumed that people had gone there and had seen his house, but there were no photos for the same reason photos of my friends' houses weren't just lying around: you didn't take pictures of other people's houses unless you knew them.

Also, for some reason when I learned of the two poles, I was completely convinced he lived next to the stripey barber's shop true north, but I don't know why I thought that. Possibly because magnetic north moved around so nobody could build a house on it, but I'm not sure I knew about magnetic north moving then...

*possibly later than you did, as I remember hearing about both sides of the legend when I was told Christmas stories.

[Liquor Box]

I have a five year old. I think he would be just as able to tell that statue is not alive as an adult (so for a fake to be able to fool him it would also have to fool an adult), and I'm sure he'd know that putting a bandaid on it wouldn't heal it because it's not real. I don't think he is out of step with other 5 year olds in this regard.

[Cazero]

Not every six years old know enough about biology to understand that band-aid is not magical duct-tape that repairs minor cracks in what you put it on.

[tyckspoon]

Not every six years old know enough about biology to understand that band-aid is not magical duct-tape that repairs minor cracks in what you put it on.

Whereas us worldly experienced adults know this is what actual duct-tape is for.

[Peelee]

Duct tape isn't even that good a tape!

[Telonius]

My daughter listens in on our D&D sessions. At 6, she might have gotten the message that the whole party assumes every statue we encounter has about a 50% chance of coming to life and attacking us in-game. Real-world though? Nah, she was pretty clear about that sort of thing.

[farothel]

I don't think they would confuse a statue with a person, but they might but a band-aid on it. I've seen my nieces do that with their teddy bears to play, so why not a statue.
Or depending on your system, illusion or enchantment spells might get her to do it against her will.

[JNAProductions]

Just want to say this thread is very endearing. Glad to hear fun stories from parents of the Playground.

Hope everyone is well! Thanks for the smiles. :)

[The Fury]

I've had friends that are parents who have had me look after their kids.
Most of them seemed pretty bright and probably understand that statues aren't alive and band-aids wouldn't heal them. That said, some of them might like to pretend that a statue is alive and put bandaids on it.

[Strigon]

Really, it depends on your six-year-old. Like, are you asking if it's plausible that at least one six-year-old somewhere in the world would think that? Then yeah, sure. If you're asking whether an otherwise normal six-year-old would do that, it becomes less likely.

Human adults vary wildly in what they know and how they perceive the world to work. Children vary even more. I guarantee you there's a six-year-old somewhere who would make that leap. Even otherwise "smart" kids might think that way, just because of a gap in their knowledge. But I wouldn't say most of them would think that would work.

[SaintRidley]

To an alert child, "the North Pole" raises a lot of questions. Which pole, true north or magnetic north? Haven't people been to the north pole?

A question no six year old has asked in the history of ever.

[dehro]

Dude, my 3.5 year old speaks and writes in 2 languages, starting a 3rd one and knows multiplications. I know it's an extreamly bright child for her age, but still, children are not stupid. I could see a six year old doing that as part of a game, or by projecting it's imaginary frind to the statue, but it knows this stuff is made of stone. Perhaps a child with slight mental disability would be naive enough to actually confuse it for a person, but not one with average intelect.

typical 3.5 minmaxing shenanigans...


On a more serious note, context is everything.

Within the context of a game being played by a child, everything can be... A car is a car, but if you are playing out a battle then it's a fortress and climbing on top of it is entirely justified to defend your position. Same if it's home base in a game of tag and your little sister is too little to climb on top of it. The fact that by doing so you will cover it in scratches really is an issue for later. (What are you talking about? I didn't get in trouble for this as a child, you did!)..
Also, what happens when you see an archway with old plaster crumbling off of it? Well the decent thing to do would be to smoothe it out by removing the crumbly bits from the wall, right? All of them... off of the whole wall, to be sure it's nice and even.. oh.. you think your parents will notice that now the archway is of a different colour and in some places old brick is exposed? surely not!..

Now, I might not be particularly bright, and might not have been a particularly bright kid, but I was 8-9 when I did these things, either because engossed in a game or out of genuine desire to help.
So yes, within the right context, this can totally happen.
Children of age 5-6 have tea parties with their dolls and sip on nothing but air, expecting you to play along.... so whether they truly believe that you are drinking tea, are conscious you are playing along or truly believe tea manifests itself like the banquet in the movie Hook, is immaterial, you, the adult, will still be sat on a tiny chair loudly slurping down imaginary tea from a plastic cup that you have no recollection buying for your child and even less idea where it's been.

Children bend reality around them on a daily basis. Some children look at a statue and will see a statue, other will see a creature in need of help, others still will see a perfect springboard to jump in the nearby bushes from.
To go back to the manuscript, if the confusion is framed as self imposed for play purposes, as a result or way to cope with trauma, as a remnant from a previous game, a result of genuine uncertainty or a learning disability, then, sure, have at it.. if an otherwise entirely savvy and bright child who has seen the statue before, or is definitely not playing or operating under a cloud of "somebody told me it is a living creature/this is Santa's helper", then no.... because, as I said, context.