Children are so literal

I don't know how I do it, but I seem to keep forgetting that children can be so literal, and often misinterpret things they hear.

This weekend Riley had a high fever, so much so that I claimed she was burning up. I tried to give her some Tylenol (which she has had in the past without complaint.) As I was reaching out to hand her the tablet she started screaming, "No, no, no", and covered her mouth. Now we've never had this problem before, she always takes her Tylenol just fine. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I don't want to burn up" at this point it became like an Abbott and Costello routine with me saying, "This will help with the burning up" and her screaming back, "No. I don't want to burn up." After a minute or two I finally realized what I was saying, and how she was interpreting it. Once I explained that the Tylenol would cool her off, not cause her to burst into flames, she was ok.