Still on the topic of reading, i had two interesting incidents this week. Yesterday we took the ferry to get to Center Island (we live in Toronto). it was a holiday so the boat was rather full and not everybody was seating, and that included us. Now on our way back, my 4 1/2 year son who is in the habit of reading signs everywhere he goes, noticed a sign that said "For safety reasons all passengers should remain seated until the boat docks." Now you have to understand my son tends to have these phobias (he gets scared of noises he is not familliar with or which are out of place, of elevators some times, and things like that). After reading the sign he actually got scared since we were not seated. It is a good thing he trusted his dad who was trying to explained to him that it was ok, we were still safe and that we were almost at the dock. He did not panicked but you could see he was not very secure.
Today a similar incident happened. We were in the laundry room at our apartment, getting the clothes into the dryer. Next thing I knew, he started asking me about heat with a very puzzed look and increasing fear. He went on to tell me that he read in the inside of the dryer a sign saying "do not use heat when using plastic and foam ....." He was actually scared and wanted to leave the room (I suppose he knows that there is usually heat inside the dryer). I had to try to explain to him that he did not finish reading the notice and that it only applies when you have plastic or foam stuff. I went on to show him that most clothes are made of cotton and therefore we can use heat. It took quite a bit of explaining but he eventually understood and stopped wanting to leave. Later in the evening as I was retelling that story to his dad, you could tell he understood what the notice meant.
I find these incidents rather interresting. As some people have said, you wonder sometimes if ignorance is not bliss :). Although these things can be inconveniences, I would not go that far. . . .
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