Why? Is The Big Question

Asking the question “why?” is essential to your toddler’s cognitive development. It’s a natural way to learn the process of how and why things work. Without this repetitive question, how will he learn how the world works? The answers just don’t show up in mid air when the thought is in his head, he has to be taught and shown and it’s our job as parents to teach our children these things. 

Try recalling how you were as a child and how you wanted to know why or how something worked the way it did? How did you learn the answers to all those questions? Did your parents or teachers ignore you, did they tell you the answer or did they help you research and experiment to find the answer?  Remember that kids who want answers are not much different from adults who need information too. They just don’t have the resources, other than you, to obtain the information they are itching to know.           

One way to take advantage of opportunities is to not just explain with words, but if the opportunity presents itself, show them how to find out the answers. For example, let’s say you child asks, “Why does the ice disappear in my water?” Why don’t you do a science project with ice cube in a cup, ice cubes in cold water and ice cubes in warm water.  As you both watch what is happening to the ice cube, pepper him with questions to describe what is being observed.  Children at this age are hands-on-learners and when they are able to perform an activity with their hands, they are able to understand the process and reasoning much better than when words are merely used.