Dawn breaks over the Jayasinghe household and as I rise to the sounds of birds chirping, as clear as a bell I hear my three year old's voice ring out ‘Mummy how does the sun come up? ... rather than go into an elaborate science lesson at six in the morning I sheepishly reply ‘It just does’, then trailing behind me the questions follow. ‘Why do I have to brush my teeth?, How do they get toothpaste into a tube?, Why are eggs breakfast food?, Why do I have a nose?, Why do I have to have a healthy breakfast and you only drink coffee?.... As endearing as the questions are, when they follow you throughout the whole day, it gets tedious.. where at some point I scream ‘BECAUSE I SAID SO!’. You would think that after three children I should be en expert at these little parental tests that our children put us through. My three year old's mastering of the Queen’s English, I feel, happened over night one minute she was cooing in her baby talk and next minute I am bombarded with a session of highly intellectual questioning.

When a toddler asks questions of everything around them, it's their way of communicating and connecting with you. They have finally learnt the language and the tools by which we communicate and with their boundless curiosity they want to be close to us. Asking all these questions is a reflection of your child’s wonderful imagination and one we shouldn’t shut down but let flight to. It isn’t easy when you have a busy day to spend and you don’t have copious amounts of time to spend answering the WHYS.

So how do we deal with our children’s questioning phase.

1. Explain to your child that you are busy with a task, give them a little project to do, but expect to reconnect with your child every fifteen minutes or so. Short burst of communication will keep them mulling your answers while you get to complete snippets of work. It’s sometimes not the best situation, but it is better than nothing!

2. Make it a point to give your child your sole attention at a certain point it the day. This ‘one on one’ will give them the much needed attention that they crave.

3. If your child is constantly chattering, see whether they have got enough outside play today. Some children chatter incessantly when they have tons of pent up energy in them, find active ways to dissipate the energy.

4. Sometimes don’t be afraid to say you don’t have all the answers. Make it a visit to the museum or a query you have to look up, turn it into activity that both you and your child can enjoy.

5. Keeping your child’s active imagination stimulated with educational books and programs helps answer some of the never ending questions that is going through their minds.

These are just some of the ways to endure the questioning phase your child will go through. The important factor to remember is not to shut down the ‘asking of questions’, the constant questioning shows that your child is curious and is actively stimulating their minds to think and grow, which is always a good thing. Happy parenting!

By Mayuri Jayasinghe