Tempus fugit

What parent hasn’t heard: Are we there yet? When will it be my birthday again? Is it almost time for…? Time — and its passage — is tough for children to grasp.

But what is time? How can time be measured in ways that mean something to kids?

Younger children — and the adults in their lives — will appreciate a recent book entitled A Second is a Hiccup (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic). “A second is a hiccup –/The time it takes to kiss your mom/Or jump a rope/Or turn around.”

Seconds turn into minutes, hours, then weeks, months and years — all of which are introduced through familiar experiences, accessible language and appealing illustrations.

This book made me think about what kids and adults can do in a space of time — and provided a conceptual framework to talk about it with children. What else can we do in a second beyond hiccup? In a minute? Hour? Month? Do the seasons look like this everywhere?

Sharing this book also reassures children that through “Sunshine, snow and rain and squall/Winter, spring, summer, fall…/As time unfolds in all its ways/You will be loved –/As surely as a second is a hiccup.”