Prepare For Questions

As your child starts to talk, it’s an exciting time. They’re able to communicate with you and actually tell you what they want or are thinking. Sure, it will take some time for them to learn all of the new words that they’ll be learning, and there will still be meltdowns where they’ll cry and scream for something. But still, your child who previously could only point and babble is saying actual words.

There is a downside to your child learning to talk, and one that you don’t often see discussed - it’s the questions that will be asked over and over and over again. You know those scenes in a movie where the child is asking “are we there yet?” Those aren’t just for comedic effect, and furthermore, that is only one simple question that may get asked multiple times right after the other - there are many more throughout the day.

If you’ve gone through the toddler phase, you’ll know what we’re talking about. Your child will ask a question, you’ll answer it, and then they’ll ask the same question again, or perhaps in a slightly different format. You’ll answer again, and the question will come right back at you. While this may sound silly, it can often become frustrating in the moment, especially if you’re busy trying to do something else.

Kids repeat questions at this age for two primary reasons. First off, they may not understand or comprehend the actual answer you’ve given. They hear it, but they simply can’t understand what you actually mean. They may have to ask multiple times to get a clear picture of what’s going on. This is certainly true in cases where the answer is too complicated for them - they’ve asked something that you’re not sure how to simplify for them.

The other common reason for the repeated questions is simply curiosity and excitement. They want to know how something works, and they’ll repeat the questions to make sure they’ve got it right and ask further clarifying questions as well. They’re learning. They may also be excited about something, and thus want to make sure it’s still happening (“are we there yet?” Is an example of this in action).

Perhaps one of the most dreaded parenting questions that comes around this age, and for the next few years is “why?” An initial question comes, you answer it, and then your child asks “why?” You proceed to explain again, and the “why?” comes back at you yet again. And the endless cycle can continue for multiple minutes until you just give up trying to explain - your child is curious but not fully understanding.

You’ll learn a lot of patience as a parent in these situations. It’s important that you answer as many of the questions that you can for your child to help them start to understand how things work, and what things are. But you don’t have to go through the cycle all of the time. Sometimes you just need to tell your child that you’ll answer the question tomorrow, and come back to it if they’re still interested the next day.

There will be lots of questions from your child as they grow up. In the toddler phase, expect plenty of repetition in those questions and answers.