Lewis Carroll Knew Toddlers

In Through the Looking Glass, Alice and the White Queen have a somewhat interesting discussion of labor policies in Wonderland.

"I'm sure I'll take you with pleasure!" the Queen said. "Two pence a week, and jam every other day."
Alice couldn't help laughing, as she said, "I don't want you to hire ME – and I don't care for jam."
"It's very good jam," said the Queen.
"Well, I don't want any TO-DAY, at any rate."
"You couldn't have it if you DID want it," the Queen said. "The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day."
"It MUST come sometimes to 'jam to-day'," Alice objected.
"No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every OTHER day: to-day isn't any OTHER day, you know."
"I don't understand you," said Alice. "It's dreadfully confusing!

Although most people explain this as Carroll’s mnemonic device for remembering the difference between the Latin words “nunc” and “iam,” or “jam,”* it seems to me that a more sensible interpretation is that he had spent enough time with toddlers to know that jam today is a terrible idea.

Today we had peanut butter and jelly.  Or Jey-yie.  Because pronouncing the L is the sort of thing that Margaret doesn’t see the point in.  Which is why we had peanut butter and jey-yie for nyunch.  Anyway, Margaret took a somewhat novel** approach to eating it.

Ellie prefers chin.  Among other things.

*Both mean “now,” but “nunc” is used in the present, while “iam” is used in the past and the future.  So you can’t have “iam” today, see?  Clever, innit?

**It’s not novel for her – this is how she tends to eat bread, but it’s novel for normal people.