For toddlers who’s verbal skills are starting to develop, “why” may be the only question they are capable of asking. Asking “why” all the time can potentially be wearing so it may help to understand that “why” doesn’t always mean why at all.
Asking “why” helps children connect with the people around them. It’s a conversation starter and it certainly attracts attention. It can give you some insight into what the child is thinking about and what their interests are. Answering the questions directly doesn’t always satisfy the child’s curiosity and can lead to more “why” questions. So what can you do about that?
Direct the question back to them. If a child asks why it rains, respond with “why do you think it rains?” You can try to answer the question matter-of-factly but if this creates more questions you can try to schedule question-and-answer sessions. Often dinner time can be an opportunity to talk through some of the topics the child is interested in. That way you can respond to your child with “let’s talk about that at dinner time with the family”. Older children may respond to writing down the question. Some children get anxious about needing to know the answer now before they forget the question. Having a questions book or notepad, combined with some scheduled “question time” can help to relieve the intensity.
