“Why?”, “Do I have to …?”, “Where is…”, “What does …. mean?”
Young children have a lot of questions. Questions are children’s way of understanding the world around them. Questions provide opportunities for parents to explain the What, Why, When, How, and Who of the world to their children. And children’s questions give us, the adults in their lives, a window into their view of the world, and a hint about what they are most ready to learn about at that moment. So — we want children asking lots of questions!
Children turn to their caregivers – parents, family, and teachers, to explain the things that they do not know. It is very important that parents and teachers take the time to listen to the question and honestly answer the question in the most age-appropriate way. It is the easiest way to help your child develop a deeper understanding of the world around him. Provide a short, understandable answer to questions.
When parents or teachers answer questions with, “because I said so”, it does not help the child. It provides no information. The child is asking the question because she genuinely wants to know the answer. Take the time to provide her with the answer! If you don’t know why, say “You know, that’s a good question, I don’t have the answer”. Maybe you can search and find the answer together!
When a parent does not answer a child’s question, it sends the message to the child that his question is not important. If you are too busy at that particular moment to answer, tell your child that. You could say, “right now I’m busy, but can we talk about that later?” And the DO IT! Remind the child of the question and talk about it when you do have time!