Corona – My son ask’s difficult questions!

I had the funniest conversation in the saddest of circumstances with my 5 year old son the other day.

We were grocery shopping at our local supermarket, my son running errands, finding the items we need from the isles, and running back to the shopping cart; my 2 year old daughter just following him around as fast as her tiny legs can carry her, sometimes picking random items and putting them into the cart.

He noticed that much of the supermarket shelves were empty, and he has the habit of asking very difficult questions; and I am not the parent that sugar-coats anything. If he asks, he gets the answer that I know is correct.

“Papa, what happens if we run out of food and can’t eat?”

I explained to him the body’s entire energy system, oxygen usage, mitochondria, ATP, ADP, glycogen reserves, fat reserves, and muscle atrophy, etc. The whole deal, that I probably learned about during my O level biology classes.

Then I went on to explain how long each reserve can last, and why, and what effects it has on the body.

He thought for a very long minute after the monologue and concluded, “So papa, if we don’t eat, our family will die quite quickly.” then he continued, “But the fat people will survive much longer, because they have so much more fat.”

Then he asked his next difficult question, “Papa, why can’t we get fat?”

I took a deep breath, and started to explain…