Driver's Ed

Abbie’s latest trick is announcing what I should do at stoplights.

When approaching a red light, I hear her announce from the backseat “stop, daddy, stop.”

When the light changes to green, she yells “go, daddy, go!”

I think she picked this up from the epic novel “Go, Dog, Go!” There’s a part in the book with pictures of dogs driving as they approach a stoplight. The accompanying text reads “The light is red. Stop, dogs, stop. The light is green now. Go, dogs, go.”

It may seem annoying to hear backseat driving tips from a 3-year-old, but I find it cute. It’s still refreshing to hear her say anything after waiting so long for her to talk. She shouts it with so much enthusiasm it’s hard not to smile. She even extends her commands to stop signs and general stops in traffic.

I’m trying to turn these exclamations into answers. I’ll ask her “what do we do at a green light?” hoping to hear the correct answer.* So far she just repeats me, and that’s okay. It’s good to know she’s got a lot to learn before getting her driver’s license.

* “Go.” I’ll also accept “speed up.”