
Have you ever wondered why toddlers ask so many questions, over and over again?
I bet if you are the parent of a toddler yourself, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
The good news is, as annoying as their ‘why’ questions may feel, a child’s curiosity to know the reason behind everything they observe is actually a sign of their intelligence. As children develop intellect, their curiosity about the world around them helps to build logic, vocabulary, concepts and patterns in their brain.
So how should we support our children’s need to know?
Let’s have a look at a sample conversation between a mother and child.
Child: Mamma why the sky become orange?
Mother: Because it’s sunset time.
Child: It’s sunset time. Sunset time.. sunset time. Mamma what’s the sunset time?
Mother: It’s when the sun goes down.
Child: Why the sun going down?
Mother: The sun wants to rest.
Child: Come we go to the sun.
Mother: No..
Child: Please, I want to go to the sun, please..
Mother: We cannot go to the sun.
Child: Why cannot go to the sun?
Mother: Because it’s high up in the sky.
Child: Come we go in the car, then we park the car, then we go in the aeroplane and we go to the sun.
Mother: ??
Child: And then we meet the dinosaur.
Mother: There’s no dinosaur.
Child: Then why the sky become orange?
Mother: ??
As irritating as it seems when the child keeps coming back to the same point, it merely shows that their brain was not able to build a logical pattern with the first answer you gave. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying.
Quick and brief answers usually work best in satisfying a child’s need to get to know stuff. Spontaneous answers would also rid your own mind of the burden to think too hard about the petty questions they ask.
Remember that a child will be happier with an instant response, whether they are able to instantly make sense out of it not, than with a late and thorough response once their curiosity level has gone down.
Next time you notice that your child has stopped asking questions, know that he/she is either disappointed with you or bored with the surroundings, which has compelled their brain to get numb.
Ouch, that hurt, didn’t it?
Appreciate your child’s liveliness and keep giving them answers to their questions to let them grow!