A Three-Year-Old with a Sharp Eye

Whenever my three-year-old daughter rides shotgun in our Panamera, she has plenty to say about my driving. She loves English, so at every traffic light she pipes up:

“Green means go, and orange and red mean stop!”

(I wonder why she speaks standard Japanese when she was born and raised in Kansai.) If I ever go through a yellow light, she’ll scold me:

“Orange means stop! Σヽ(｀д´；)ﾉ”

…Sorry! She also gets on my case if I don’t keep both hands on the wheel. If I take my hands off it while we’re stopped at a light, she’ll say:

“Mom, this is how you hold the steering wheel! Like this! It’s dangerous!”

And she’ll demonstrate by gripping an imaginary wheel with both hands. …Sorry!

And heaven forbid I start driving before fastening her seat belt:

“Mom, you’re not wearing your seat belt! The police officer will tell you off! Σヽ(｀д´；)ﾉ ”

…Yes, I’m sorry.

A Safer Drive, No Question

She has plenty of other instructions, too:

・Put your drink in this cup holder. (Even my drink has to go in the cup holder in front of the passenger seat.)
・Lower the sun visor if the evening sun is too bright.
・If her little sister is crying in the back, pull over and check on her.

Honestly, she can be a bit much (laughs). But she really is a stickler for doing things properly, so I’m sure watching her easygoing mom must drive her crazy.

Still, with a three-year-old riding beside me, I have no choice but to drive safely. These days, I’m starting to think that’s not such a bad thing.