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If there’s one word that every chatty preschooler knows (other than ?no?) it?s ?why.? From ?why can?t we get a puppy? and ?why is the sky blue,? to ?why does Grandpa have hair coming out of his nose? and ?why can?t I have a baby brother,? parents have been asked it all.
Judy Arnall, a parenting expert and author of Discipline Without Distress and Plugged-In Parenting, says the ?why stage? of development isn?t about misbehaving?or annoying mom and dad?it?s what happens when children?s brains exercise their imagination and creative thinking. ?Asking ?why"? shows a significant leap in brain development,? she says. ?Children only understand what is familiar in their life and what they can see, touch and hear. They ask questions to connect the dots.? Preschool teacher and registered early childhood educator Alanna Pustil agrees. ?It?s natural?a child?s curiosity spikes due to their growing self-awareness and world awareness. They begin to notice things happening in their environment that they never registered before,? she says.
That might explain why mom Lyndsey Smith once had an eight-minute conversation with her four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Hannah, about the death of Smith?s grandfather. ?She wanted to know why he died, why we bury people, where he is now and why, why we can?t dig him up and why he?ll turn to soil one day.? This continued until they got to the grocery store and Hannah?s attention was diverted. ?Her questions are endless. The...