Line of Questioning

I was talking with Grammy on the phone tonight when she asked me to ask Henry where he hid her slippers when he was playing with them this afternoon.
I should have known better. Obtaining useful information from a 4 year old is all about the approach. I wish I had better creative names for the various methodologies, but I'm too tired.

Method 1: Be General and Vague
Mama: Where are Grammy's slippers, Henry?
Response: I dunno.
Translation: Doesn't immediately impact me and involves remembering uninteresting information which happened more than 5 seconds ago.

Method 2: Be Direct and Assertive
Mama: Did you hide Grammy's slippers, Henry?
Response: NO!
Translation: I'm a good boy and deserve obscene amounts of candy and toys.

Method 3: Casual Inquiry
Mama: Where did you hide Grammy's slippers, Henry?
Response: Where the buried treasure is!
Translation: (Aside from too much "Peter Pan") You have asked an open-ended, playful question and I TOTALLY answered it. Proceed with the obscene amounts of candy and toys because I'm a good boy.


End result: He FINALLY divulged that they were under "Kaffryn's sleeping place" which makes it sound more like an animal's den than her pretty pastel crib.

Treasure located and secured. Over and Out