Why?
Friday, Noah was a normal two-year-old.
Today…
“I hear a airplane. Where is it going?”
“I don’t know, sweetie.”
“Why?”
“Nissa has a poo?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Why?”
“Lunchtime!”
“Why?”
“We’re going to go to the 7-Eleven for Smarties for you, hon.”
“Why?”
“For when you do a poo. You know that.”
“Why?“
“Naptime!”
“Why?”
“Give me that, my dear. It’s too small for the baby.”
“Why?“
“She will put it in her mouth.”
“Why?”
“That’s just what babies do.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. You used to put everthing in your mouth, too.”
“Why?”
“Beats me. Why did you do that?”
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
I think the phrase he’s searching for is “damned if I know”. Lacking that, he’s struck dumb. For the moment. But only for the moment, for it is clear that Noah has entered the Why Stage.
It’s not so bad: At least he listens to the answers.
6 Comments »
Leave a comment
-
Recent Comments
Marie on Isn’t there an insurance… Kiera on Isn’t there an insurance… Mwa on Isn’t there an insurance… lynn on Isn’t there an insurance… Zayna on They do it, too RSS feed
I remember in psycholinguistics class my prof explaining that kids often discover early that “why?” prompts a response from parents, along with “wassat?” so they end up using it whenever they want to keep a conversation going because they don’t know what else to say.
I am expecting this stage to drive me batty when it comes to my household. I think you’ve found some really effective ways of dealing with it. I’mma learn from you.
We have hit the why stage as well. And the oldest hasn’t completely grown out of it. One year old has also tried a great many sentences with “because” but is struggling with that one. I give her a week.
in our case it’s the “where?” “what does that say?” and “what’s that for?” stage. I’m not complaining, at least there’s some variety in the questioning, even though I get tired of reading out every single notice in supermarkets. She is yet to discover the “why?” question.
At age 8, I have decided that the “why” stage MUST be done. I sometimes answer, “The answer is ‘yes, Mama’ not ‘why’. Try again.”
My daughter’s version was “Who made dat?” Took some creative thinking on my part.
Not been around for a while, but thought I’d come back & say Hi:)
Mstr A is STILL in this stage….. don’t think he will ever grow out of it! And he asks each question several times before he accepts the answer. Oh Joy! at least noah should get past it soon enough;)