PK: Mama, can we kill Boo?*
Me: No. Because killing people is wrong.
PK (angry): No! That isn't why!
Me: ??
PK: We can't kill Boo because she isn't real. And also, because she is only a person in a movie.
Me: Oh. You are asking a practical question.
PK: What does practical mean?
Me: Well, when you say, "can we kill Boo?" you could be asking a practical or a moral question. A practical question means, is it possible? And the answer is, no, because she isn't real. A moral question is, is it right or wrong? And the answer is no, because killing is wrong.
PK: Ok. Can I hit the cat?
Me: Practially speaking? Yes, you make a fist and hit her, like this (hitting the chair). Morally speaking? No. Because it is mean.
PK: And also she doesn't like it.
Me: That too.
PK: And she will scratch me.
Me: Now, that's a practical issue again.


*Boo is the little girl in Monsters Inc.