"Why" survival.

lol This brings back a few memories!

I think with my daughter it lasted until I could say "I don't know why! That's why you go to school - so you can learn why and tell me.".

Boomer - it's ok to say I dunno.

Oh man. I gotta get this kid in school! If that's what it takes to end this thing, I'm telling you, this kid is going to be enrolled.

littlek - when I say "I dunno" it goes ....

Why don't you know?

Mmmmm. Maybe I learned it in school but I forgot.

Why did you forget?

And so on and so on and so on and so on.

Ok, it's ok to say "STOP". Isn't it? Have you tried distracting him? I actually missed out on this with my neice - she didn't go through a big "why?" phase.

Why should I stop littlek?

Not you, tell Mo to stop.

It was a joke - obviously not a very good one.

If I tell him to stop he asks "Why?".

If I tell him to wait and ask dad he says "Why?"

If I tell him that if he asks me one more Why? question that I'm going to lose my mind and start drinking heavily he asks "Why?"

Curiosity is a wonderful thing and I don't want to discourage it but honestly this is just much too much.

Doh!

Heehee, he's a funny kid.

From a Seasoned Parent:


"I'm tired of telling you "Why". Now it is your turn to tell me "Why".

Mo is working on developing conversational skills. By the time he's an adolescent and trying to impress girls he'll have forgotten the Why Gambit.

Pity. This is what mothers are for.

Suggested conversational ramifications on the subject of Our Friend the Giraffe:

"Would you like to have a long neck?"

"What green vegetables do you like in a salad?"

"Do you know I love you even when we aren't talking?"

You are building up the credits for Mother's Day, 2006--also the gray hairs, but that comes with the natural territory.

boomerang, just set up a question and answer time every day, and when Mo is asking all his "why" questions you
can tell him, he should remember the question for the
"question and answer time" you have especially reserved for him.

Actually what I did, when I had enough of the "why game",
I just turned it around and asked little Jane what she thought could be the answer.

Mo asked: "Why do Giraffes have long necks"?
Mom would say: "Well, what do you think could be the reason Giraffes have such long necks"?

...and so on. Instead of answering his questions, you make
him think of one, which can lead to interesting discussions.
At least it was for us a nice way to escape the dreadful
why, why, and why nagging.

"Do you know I love you even when we aren't talking?"

I love that!

When I try to question him back (Why do you think....) or use other diversionary tactics I get the "JUST TELL ME" fit.

Maybe q and a time would work but the questions seem to naturally arise out of whaever we're doing

.... then devolve into an endless "Why?" circle of stuff that doesn't have anything to do with what we're doing.

I think that tactic might work though if when the conversation went from giraffes to electricity that I tabled the further conversation for later discussion.

Maybe I could try "That's a good question. We'll need to look up the answer when we have time."

"Just tell me!!!" is the easy way out boomerang, so Mo
doesn't have to come up with an answer. It is so much
easier to ask Mom to death, as she's always eager and
willing to answer.

Hasn't this happened to you that Mo asked a question
repeatedly, even though you've answered it already
in depth the first time?

Kids will test you and as soon as you cave in, they'll
go for it

Tabling sounds good.

Sozlet never really did this with me, though she did it with E.G. for a while. I don't really know why. I think we had a theory at some point that it was because I liked it too much, while it annoyed him. :-) A series of "why" questions is easy communication for me, and I turn into a pedant at the drop of hat. (Hey, don't nod so vigorously!)

Anyway, I seemed to inadvertently turn her off by giving too thorough of answers, maybe you could try that if you're looking to stem the tide.

Oh my.

No. We have not had the same question over and over yet. I will not look forward to that.

...she's taken up the pedant bit though, the way this works now is she is constantly saying, "Do you know why...?" and then explaining. Sometimes fact-based, sometimes... really not.

Ooops. Soz snuck in - that was directed to CJane's post.

Interesting, soz.

If it's not a photography question I might not be able to over explain but I guess I could just riff on it the same way he does until long-windedness wears the "Why?" right out of him.

Here's what I would probably do -- (I'm serious, I'm not particularly proud of it but oh well.)

Sozlet: Why do giraffes have long necks?

Me: They evolved that way to be able to get way up high and eat leaves that other animals can't reach. Kind of like how the dinosaurs evolved super-long necks. Do you remember that picture of brachiosaurus eating from the top of a tree? <run off and get dino book...>

<dino book discussion ensues, why?-tide stemmed before it even got going...>

I love this! Seeing my six year old will still sometimes do this I would assume forever? Actually my 6 year old is not so bad any longer. I would guess some where around 4 - 5 years old. My 2 year old is horrible about this. Everything is why.

To help and to amuse myself sometimes I make things when the why is so crazy. But if you prefer to try a different way, turn the question around and ask what do you think? I think many kids like to just ask this question and that really do not care about the why. So by asking them what do they think - it helps. Sometimes I also get the response "Just tell me." But I don't let up - I pose the question in a similar way again.

I also like this method when you don't necessarily want your child to know yet, or the answer/question is really not of great importance. I did this when my 6 year old wanted to know if the characters at Disney are real or if they are just people dressed up. I posed it - what do you think? Therefore if she is ready to forgo the fantasy - she will have it set in her mind that they are people inside. If she still wants the fantasy - she can still believe they are real.

Useful sorting out question:

Do you want information or attention?

As for "Just tell me"....insist on "Please, just tell me."

I can't be sure but I think Mo wants control of the information issue. Intellectual curiosity is a good area to want control. Just enforce the We Don't Interrupt Rule and insist on "Please".