A recent Kiddicare survey has revealed that parents often struggle to answer the constant stream of questions from their curious young children, with over a third of parents feeling either frustrated or guilty when they just don’t know how to answer.
Know the feeling?
Asking parents exactly which questions left them speechless, Kiddicare have collated the top enquiries from little ones that left minds bloggled.
How would you answer these overwhelming gems?
Exclusive Top 20 Tricky Questions Asked by Kids
-
How is money made?
-
Do birds have ears?
-
What is zero?
-
Why do I have to pay for things?
-
Why do I get a shadow?
-
Why do our fingers get bumps on them when we've been in the bath a long time?
-
Are squirrels married?
-
Why are bananas yellow and bent?
-
Why can’t tigers go to the supermarket?
-
What do potatoes eat?
-
Who dug the sea?
-
Mummy, can you turn my eyes off please?
-
Why is water wet?
-
What's a penguin?
-
What does love mean?
-
Why can't I see my eyes?
-
Why do I have bones?
-
What shape is a car?
-
What is time?
-
Do cats have eyebrows?
So, what do we do when faced with these types of questions?
How to answer children's questions when you don't know the answer:
The good news is there is no ‘right answer’. There rarely is when it comes to parenting, right?
Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, child psychologist from The Secret Life Of 4, 5 and 6 Year-Olds, says:
“You may be surprised to know that often children aren’t really looking for an answer to their question. For the under-5s making conversation can actually be quite hard and after they’ve learnt that asking a question normally gets an answer, they then use this tactic as a way of having a conversation with you which for them is really exciting and ‘grown-up’!”
There are many different tactics you can use when faced with tricky questions including:
• Distraction – play on your child’s short attention span and pull their focus elsewhere, if you’re in the car then this is the perfect time to ask them whether they’ve seen the sheep out the window, for example.
• Prompt their problem solving skills – disguise the fact you don’t know the answer by asking them how they can find out, is it asking Grandad or going to the library?
• Use what you have to hand – if now really isn’t the time to answer this question (or you just need some more time to Google the answer!) create a clever diversion by utilising any toys, tablets or snacks to buy yourself some time.
• ‘Wing it’ – although it might seem like an odd tactic, try giving a completely nonsensical answer. It actually helps to test their powers of deduction as they have to work out if you’ve given a silly answer!
Dr Kilbey points out that when children ask so many questions they are actually sharing their inner world and, if we can see what they are doing in a different light, we might not feel so frustrated or judge ourselves so harshly.
She says: “Rather than feeling that these questions are here to test you, try to look at these odd questions as your child’s way of making sense of their world. These questions give an insight into your little one’s inner thoughts and if you can see these questions as humorous and interesting, then you should find yourself a lot less frustrated by them.”
For more information from Dr Kilbey and further findings from the survey, visit the Kiddicare ‘Driving With Kids’ hub.
You may also like...
READ: Parents reveal the best – and most hilarious - insults their kids have ever given them
WATCH: Parents reveal 10 things you need to know before having a baby