Asking questions is an important part of your child’s
development, but how do you handle the inevitable stumpers? Did
you get me at the baby store? Why are those ants black? What do
worms eat? What are stars? Where do dinosaurs live?” When my son
Cole was three, the questions started. At first, I was so
thrilled by his budding curiosity that I answered each one
eagerly—probably with too much information. But I quickly
learned that his questions are not always what they seem. And
answering them is not a simple matter of providing facts. It
also wasn’t long before the sheer volume of questions wore down
my enthusiasm and some of my answers became perfunctory. That’s
when I started questioning myself. How important are these
questions to Cole’s developing urge to learn? Was I encouraging
him to be passive by providing easy answers? Would I thwart his
curiosity if I said I didn’t know the answer or didn’t have time
to talk about it? Some questions my son asks are delightful,
funny, and fun to answer. Others are s