The question is how to make sure kids don't depend on you for every answer. How to attain that?
Are ghosts real? Do horses like hot water or cold water? Where do babies come from? Why is a pizza not called a burger?
When children start asking questions about things, they won't stop. Curiosity is a brilliant thing, but not when it makes your kid 10 times more hyper.
However, as much as the questions will tire, or even irritate, you, it is important to make sure you answer all the questions — or at least the majority of them.
The question is how to make sure kids don't depend on you for every answer. How to attain that? We got a few pointers.
'What do you think?'
When kids ask you questions, turn the question around to them. Ask them what do they think. This will enable them to understand their own question when they hear it out loud and may also help them find an answer in their own question.
It will also help them in being pro-active in finding their own solutions — a habit that will help them in future. This also helps the parents understand the kid's mindset and mould the answer accordingly.
Tell the truth
But not the whole truth. It is important to give your children the real and true answers. Saying your dog has been sent to live on a far-away farm is not going to help them in the long run. Introduce them to the difficult concepts of life such as death and sanitisation, but make sure you do not make it very detailed. Curate your details depending on the mental and emotional intelligence of your child, as every child has a different sensitivity level.
Reward the right answers
Simply telling kids to find their own answers is not going to encourage them. They will find answers 2-3 times but will later start skipping queries to save their efforts. So, make their efforts worth it by offering them rewards for every right answer. Make sure you allow them extra 10 minutes of sleep or an extra serving of ice-cream when they find the right answers. This will inculcate the notion of solving their own problems, which will come in handy in their future.
Skill building
Use these questions to help them attain skills. For example, if your kid asks you the meaning of 'cumulative', ask them to use it in a sentence at least thrice that day. If someone asks why their dog had to be put to sleep, use that to teach them about how to care for animals. These questions can be used as teaching aids.
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