If we abstract from the fact that we really are getting older with every single day, then the whole point is that children, whether ours or not, often tell us the truth - or what they consider to be the truth, to our face. Various social boundaries and restrictions haven't yet become entrenched in their minds - so we get funny dialogues and scenes like these when adults do realize their age.
“Many people say that the subjective perception of time differs between children and adults - and this is true,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, with whom Bored Panda got in touch for a comment here. “And it’s not just about some mental factors, often about ordinary arithmetic.”
“Just judge for yourself - if, let's say, for a 40 Y.O. person one year is 1/40 of their life, then for a 4 Y.O. kid, a year is a whole quarter of their life. Accordingly, everything that happened before - especially if it was long before their birth, is history. Ancient history. Even more ancient, the younger the child. Well, only then do various psychological factors come into play, such as differences between generations..." Irina summarizes.
Well, in the end, you and I are really old, aren’t we? Chris Columbus, while filming Home Alone, tried to specifically “erase” any obvious “time markers” so that his creation would look “out of time,” relevant to any viewer (perhaps the only obvious marker there is the cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan at the McCallisters' house). But he also miscalculated.
For example, my friends’ child, having watched the movie for the very first time, was so surprised: “Why didn’t Kevin just text his parents that he’s okay?” And what can adults tell him, since any explanation will simply be a recognition of one’s own 'antiquity'? Well, somewhere between the dinosaurs and the pyramids of Egypt...
In any case, this is nothing more than philosophy, but now just take a break from reflecting and feel free to scroll this list to the very end - because it really deserves it! As they say, any similarities with real people are random - although, damn it, symptomatic. And well, maybe add your own stories in the comments if you have experienced something similar while talking with kids too.
