#1
#2
#3
Good communication, active listening, openness, avoiding judgment, and encouraging curiosity—ideally, that’s what you aim for as a parent. But that’s easier said than done. It’s hard to know what to do when you get ambushed with a particularly spicy, deep, meaningful, or bizarre question.
According to Alan Kazdin, Ph.D., professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University, many questions that children ask “aren’t issues” for them, but “they are for parents.”
However, if your kid is wondering about the world, being curious, and asking you something, you should “just go right at it [the question],” he told CNN.
#4
He had a tantrum and at the end yelled “you’re the worst!” He’s never talked to me like that so I was a little hurt but I told him that was not a nice thing to say and that me and his mom do a lot for him and he needs to clean up his toys.
About 15 minutes later he is sobbing on the stairs. I came over and asked him what’s wrong and he apologized and said “I told you you’re the worst and that makes ME the worst!” That absolutely broke my heart. I told him it was okay, we all get mad sometimes but no matter what I’ll always love him, and that he was the best son in the world.
#5
At least the dentist got a kick out of it.
#6
She was five. She randomly asked this when I was driving one day. I have no idea how to explain what an atom is (I’ve never been good at sciences), especially to a small child. I gave her the best explanation I could. She’s a super smart kid so it makes sense she’d have super smart questions. I told her I’m not totally sure I’m right and that’s a very good question to ask her teacher. Filled with pride, I told her she’s very clever and asked her why she asked that.
She said, “oh, I saw a sign that said ATM”.
The important thing is that, no matter what your kid asks you, try not to freak out or be judgmental. Simply answer the question (to the best of your knowledge) and then comment on it.
For example, if your child asks you what a certain swear word means, tell them, and then explain why it’s not something your family uses, and that you get in trouble for doing so.
“The reason those words have power is because adults don't talk to kids about this stuff. They have power because they cause a reaction. If a child knows them, then it's not a big deal -- it takes all the energy out of it,” Kazdin said.
Meanwhile, James Brush, Ph.D., a child psychologist in Cincinnati, explained to CNN that kids appreciate parents who “really listen and reflect and don't try to charge in with the cavalry.”
According to Brush, “Sometimes just reflecting the feeling behind the question is enough. Sometimes they're not looking for information -- they're looking for empathy.”
#7
#8
Honestly it was sort of a system shock to be reminded how plainly and clearly “good” the idea of universal healthcare is—that a child would intrinsically understand it and assume that we, the adults, would obviously have implemented it.
#9
Rosemarie Truglio, a developmental psychologist and Sesame Workshop's senior vice president of education and research, told NPR that you do not have to rush to answer your child’s questions. You can ask for clarification and pause. For one, this gives you breathing room to consider how you’ll answer. Moreover, you can really get to grips with what you’re being asked, and you can answer the right question instead of the wrong one.
“They may not actually be asking what you think they're asking. You may be about to give them too much information that they don't want and they're not ready for. Pause before you respond, and make sure you're really answering the question with the just-right amount of information that they can handle at the moment,” Truglio said.
#10
#11
My 4 year old son raises his hand and the guide bent down and smiled and asked, “what’s your question?”
My son replied, “How do they get robots to walk?”.
Do you think that Minions get constipated from eating so many bananas? Which of these kids’ questions would likely break your brain, too?
What are the most bizarre and out-there questions that a child has ever asked you? Meanwhile, what’s the deepest question that you’ve ever asked an adult when you were small?
Share your stories and opinions in the comments! We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
#13
#14
#15
Their dad died. I just told her that she did have a Dad, he just passed away and wasn't here with us anymore. "Is he with Jesus then?" Of course she asks me - the only non Christian in the whole dang family (well, me and my husband) so I said "Your dad believed in Jesus so im sure he is."
Then the follow up - "where is your dad?" So I said he passed away too. "I saw a picture of your dad fishing (the most prominent pic of my dad in my house) - do you think he's fishing with my Daddy and Jesus?" So I choked back about a thousand tears and said "Oh I bet they're catching all the fish together!"
I hated their dad. He beat my sister in law. He beat them in front of those girls. But he died when they too were too young to remember. W*f I am supposed to do? I promise my Dad isn't anywhere around their dad in any after life, but the image in their minds of my Dad fishing with theirs made both of them smile, so...worth it.
#16
Another time, at the dinner table, her brother was playing with his food - spaghetti and meatballs. She heaved that sigh reserved by big sisters for younger brothers and said, Evan! Don't beat your meat! I almost choked.
#17
#18
The child was in third grade.
My answer was immediate reassurance and self-reflection for why she felt the need to ask. My answer to that question led to my deconstruction from Christianity and, eventually, my own departure from “the closet.”.
#19
Me, startled: “Um, I don’t know. Why?”
Child: “Because their favorite food is bananas and you say bananas make it hard for me to go.”
Impeccable logic.
#20
My other daughter had a plastic cow and at the dinner table, she held it over my cup and said “pee pee pee” and I asked her what she was doing and she said “filling up your cup with milk” and I said “oh, uh, milk is not cow pee” and she was shocked!