Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Pasadena, CA

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Perhaps your toddler or preschooler is as earthy as mine?

Wohhhhhh.

Because what never fails to get a chuckle is our unpredictable, silly, not-entirely-in-our control bodies. Surprise is a key element of humor. Young ones, especially those who are still mastering the everyday human tasks of eating, sneezing, burping, and eliminating, find quite a few things go awry. Nose blowing? Total mystery. Must be taught. Sudden case of hiccups? Hilarious! Eating? Piloting utensil from bowl to mouth is easier said than done.

Fssssssss.

Because there's an equalizer that, at long last, puts you and your child on equal footing, so to speak. And what could be funnier than a (whisper with me now) fart?

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Well, a book about Walter, the Farting Dog. Perhaps an undiagnosed food allergy plagues him, or a spicy meal that disagrees with his stomach? Whatever the source of his gastro-intestinal distress, it's consistent over a series of books that puts him at the beach, on a cruise, and at a yard sale.

His child owners are endlessly loyal and accommodating of Walter's stinky impairment. Luckily, Walter's unique talents allow him to escape those who'd otherwise try to shame or isolate him from his beloved family. And he has a way of using his knack to help his friends.

While it might not be for everyone, especially on heavy rotation (night after night of reading), Walter does provide a few chuckles and allows us to acknowledge our common link of having bodies that do unannounced and sometimes silly things when we least expect it.

Because very often what's funny skirts the edge of propriety. And the Walter books are a great opportunity to talk about private and public boundaries, what's prosocial and anti-social, and polite and impolite ways of acting in public. Trust me, they've already noticed bodies do odd things and make funny sounds!