They say curiosity killed the cat, and any parent who’s been on the receiving end of a day’s worth of questions—why, how, where, when, and what—might understand the warning in this old saying. It can get downright aggravating to have your thoughts interrupted with “why?” for the 800th time! Still, curiosity is a good thing and as parents, there are things we can do to encourage curiosity and overcome our occasional unconscious instinct to thwart it.
One of the best things we can do to encourage and promote curiosity is to answer those questions! I know how annoying it can be, but by offering answers or helping our child find out where to go to find the answers to all those questions, we are sending a very strong message that we support curiosity and learning. Instead of pawning off the child’s questions on someone or something else (“Go ask your Dad” or “Look it up”) our involvement shows we value the questions and the curiosity process.
We can also ask questions of our own. I used to ask open-ended questions as a way of keeping my kids from getting too antsy or bored when we were waiting in line or stuck in traffic—questions like, “Why do you think trains have such loud whistles?” or other age and developmentally appropriate questions could stimulate all sorts of upper level thinking. Modeling a natural curiosity for the world is a great way of giving your children permission to nurture their own natural curiosity.
Let you child know that there are no “stupid” questions and even if they think they have asked a similar question before—it’s okay to ask again. Children can shut down and stop letting themselves ask questions if they think they will be mocked, made fun of, or won’t get honest answers. In order to promote and encourage curiosity, we parents have to maintain a fertile and accepting atmosphere where questions are welcome.
See Also: School Isn’t the Only Place to Get Educated