Just a couple weeks ago my son started asking why, why, why for everything! Literally any time we ask him to do something, he asks why. Asking why all the time can definitely get on my husband’s and my nerves. I don’t want to have to explain myself all the time, however, there are a lot of good reasons he is asking why. Here are some tips for how to deal with children asking why all the time.

Asking Why Gets Your Attention and Response

The word why requires you to respond. Your child just discovered a word that gets your attention and, usually, a response from you! This is a way for them to get your attention and elicit a response from you with very little effort on their part.

Answering Honestly Builds Trust with Your Child

Whenever your child asks you a question, you should try to answer him/her directly to the best of your abilities. If you don’t respond to your children, it might inhibit their curiosity, which you don’t want to do. If you don’t have an answer, you can honestly tell your children you don’t know why. If it is a question you can look for an answer to, maybe it is an opportunity for you both to learn something or explore a topic together for more bonding. Your child inherently trusts you and wants to learn from you, so use the whys as a way to connect  with your child.

Children Asking Why is Part of Learning and Development

Toddlers are very curious about the world around them. They want to better understand everything they see, hear and interact with. As parents, it is our job to help ignite our toddler’s curiosity and desire to learn. If you don’t answer their questions, you might be stifling their creativity, curiosity and desire to learn.

Helping Your Child Learn to Communicate

Your child is still learning about how to communicate, and asking why is part of the process of mastering their conversational skills. Asking why is a chance for them to practice the back and forth required for a dialogue required for a conversational exchange. These conversations help them improve their language skills and processing abilities.

Using Their Question to Get Them to Think

If you just can’t handle anymore why questions, rather than letting the whys get on your nerves, why not turn the question on your child? Ask your child why he/she think the sky is blue, or the grass is green. Ask your child a lot of questions to accompany his/her original why question. You can use this opportunity to have a dialogue with your child and potentially teach him/her something along the way. Remember, your children are just trying to make sense of the world around them. You are helping them learn by thinking through their questions.

If you want more information on why your child asks why all the time, check out these resources:

What to Expect
Metro Parent
Dr. Greene
Parents

How do you deal with children asking why all the time? What tips did I miss?