At Disneyland, my daughter insisted we ride the Ferris wheel, so we hopped on. As we rose high, she had a panic attack and began sobbing.
I held her close, promising we were safe, but her cries only grew louder. Then, I suddenly recalled a math trick. Leaning down, I asked, “What’s 2+2?” She replied hesitantly, “…4?” I said, “Yes! Great job. Okay, what’s 4+2?” She said, “…6?” I responded, “Correct! Okay, now what’s 6+4?”
By the second question, she was no longer crying, and by the fifth question, she was actively engaged, working out the simple addition problems, adding single digits to each new answer. We got all the way to 72 by the time the ride was over.