The ‘WHY’ Attack
Recently I happened to meet one of the parents of a toddler. She had a whimsical look on her face. And asked me if there is any solution to the ‘why attack’. Initially, I didn’t get what she was saying, but before I could express myself, she started with the set of questions, starting with the dreaded word ‘Why’.
So here it goes.
And mind it, after every question her brows were arched, mouth slack, eyes wide and unblinking.
- Why do stars twinkle?
- Why girls have long hairs and boys have short?
- Why can’t I write with my left hand?
- Why our teeth don’t become red when we brush it with red toothpaste?
- Why don’t I speak like Doraemon?
- Why do you look funny when you apply make up? (My eyes popped out when she said this)
- Why do we get up in the morning and sleep at night?
- Why is the sky blue?
- Why do you and daddy fight?
- Why you are my mamma and daddy my daddy?
For a minute I was left speechless, wondering whether to answer the questions or admire at the kids ability to generate such mind boggling questions.
Yes, the kid ‘why attacked’ her mom and her mom in turn ‘why attacked’ me.
‘How do you reply to such questions? What do you reply’? She asked me.
From the look on her face and the tone of her voice I can say that she was completely flabbergasted desperate to get free from the ‘why attack’.
‘Even if I reply to her questions she will have more add on questions to my answer which will eventually leave me at split ends’, she continued.
I replied her to come up with ‘What do you think’ question to counter her ‘why’ questions. Ask her the same question she asked you and wait for some sort of explanation from her. If she has, she will come up with some explanation but if she doesn’t have then you can ask her to find it for herself. By doing this you will allow her to be self reliant, independent and more importantly help come up with her own research.
‘But there are some questions that don’t have any answers’, she countered.
Just like, ‘Why do you look funny when you apply make up?’ I intervened and winked.
Both of us started laughing uncontrollably.
‘And that’s what you should exactly do’, I advised her.
So what are your ways of tackling the ‘Why Attack’?
Hetal Kachalia is a preschool teacher in the morning and a dotting home maker by the evening. She blogs at http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in.
