along the way

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The adult and/or the child may also notice things along the way, at places or points of the tour that the child doesn’t necessarily stop at (perhaps interesting to either one, but not interesting enough for the child to stop). For instance, the sound of children may inevitably fill the ears at some point during the tour, depending on location and time of day. If walking through a suburb during the day, for example, they may hear schoolkids playing at recess or lunchtime (or in a playground over the weekend). The child is likely to connect with this more than the parent and may have a peek to see what these unfamiliar children are up to, and whether it is the same as what they do during their own school breaks. While the parent may get impatient, they need to remember that the whole point of the activity is for the child to call the shots for once.

Other things may highlight to the parent the differences between their own thoughts and knowledge and those of the child. For example, the child may look up excitedly if they notice something like this ballet shoe and costume combo hanging from a wire, while the parent may be slightly surprised or intrigued as normally in that situation they would expect to see dirty runners. They may wonder if the sequins here still indicate a drug dealer nearby (as the rumours about shoes hanging from a wire go), which is obviously not something the child would think about. It makes the parent appreciate the innocence of the child and encourages the adult to try to think in this way for the remainder of the tour (and potentially beyond).