If you have a child that is around the age of two to three, chances are you have heard the question “Why” more times, than you would like. It seems as if everything conversation is riddled with “why…why…why”. Although exasperating, it is important to understand that children at this age are simply curious with their little brains are like sponges, absorbing everything heard and seen.
As your child’s language skills begin to expand, and the mind begins to comprehend more and more, your chills is going to want to know everything. For one thing, this situation is frustrating to the parent. After all, you now have a small child that is curious but not capable of understanding a reasonable explanation. Okay, so how do you answer a three-year-olds question to, “Why is the sky blue?”
Another frustrating aspect for the parent is that we begin to wonder if the child is really, curious or just trying to drive us insane. After all, sometimes a child will use the word “why” when meaning something totally, different. Think about this…when your child is born, his, or her cries tell you whether there is a dirty diaper, hungry tummy, hurting tummy, and so on. Rather than tell you in words, the baby uses various cries.
However, as your child grows and starts to use real words, often these words do not necessarily connect with the meaning. At first, you would notice the child calling the bottle, “kitty”, or the dog, “boo”. Okay, you have to admit watching your little one try to master the English language is adorable but soon, the word, “why” starts cropping up. At this, the cute language is no longer fun.
Typically, when a child asks mom or dad “why” this or “why” that, he or she is not actually looking for you to give a detailed explanation. Instead, the child is often just trying to say they want to know more about the subject mentioned. For instance, if your child were to ask you why the sky is blue, rather than go into a scientific explanation that the child would not understand, you could respond with, “That’s where birds fly”. In other words, you are simply communicating with your child rather than answering a generic question.
If your child were to ask why a frog is green, rather than explain, you could say, “You know, sometimes frogs are gray, red, and orange.” This type of interchange between parent and child is a great teaching tool, actually addressing the child’s real question of “why” and not making you a frustrated parent.