Pattern detectors

My kids, like all kids, love to find similarities and relationships. At swim class today, Anselm overheard a mum hurrying along her unresponsive daughter, and remarked "That mother seems to be having a similar experience." (to me). Eliot, while eating her waffle the other morning, chewed it down to a single square and noted "Like a booster seat." Another bite: "Like a sled." Another bite, leaving a neck-like tendril of waffle extended: "Like a dinosaur!".