Question: How do you guys handle the 'why?' phase with a 4 year old?

Dec 211 min read

My son has entered a new level of questioning everything and ngl it's exhausting. Yesterday we spent 20 minutes discussing why the sky is blue, then why water is wet, then why wet things are wet. I tried the whole 'great question, let's look it up together' thing but he lost interest after 30 seconds. Do you just power through these phases or is there actually a strategy that works? He's driving me up the wall but also kinda impressed by his curiosity lmao

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Comments(11)

RRandy B.RegularDec 22

Try the 'your turn' method - after like the 3rd why in a row, ask HIM why he thinks it's that way. Gets him thinking instead of you scrambling for explanations. Also buys you like 10 mins of peace.

NNolan J.RegularDec 22

honestly the why phase never really ends, it just gets more specific. now my 7yo asks me stuff about physics and I'm like 'buddy I barely passed science class.' I started keeping a notebook of questions I can't answer and we look them up together. Makes him feel like we're solving mysteries.

TTyler H.RegularDec 22

wet things are wet because they have water on them and water is wet because... yeah I see where this goes in circles lmao

MMark A.RegularDec 22

Same boat with my 4yr daughter. The exhaustion is real but I read somewhere that these kids are literally building their understanding of the world, so every 'why' is actually a good sign cognitively. Doesn't make it less draining at 6am though

AAllen K.RegularDec 23

The 20 min sky discussion would've broken me lol. I started just giving him increasingly ridiculous answers to see if he'd notice. 'Why is grass green?' 'Because dinosaurs liked it that way.' He didn't even bat an eye, just asked why dinosaurs liked it.

PPete D.RegularDec 23

The 20-minute sky conversation is peak 4yo energy. I found that instead of trying to END the "why" phase, I just started asking HIM why he thought it was blue. Turns it into a game and usually he gets distracted by his own theories lol

CClint R.RegularDec 23

This phase actually gets better around 5-6 when their attention span improves and they start accepting "because science" as an answer. Hang in there, the exhaustion is real but temporary

BBrian L.RegularDec 22

Pro tip: redirect with "what do YOU think?" - buys you like 5 minutes of peace while they think, plus they feel smart

MMax R.RegularDec 24

lol same. My guy is 4.5 and we had a 15min debate about whether clouds are made of water or air last week. The "why" never stops, just gotta embrace it I guess

LLuke N.RegularDec 24

Honestly I started keeping a notebook of his questions and looking them up AFTER bedtime. Makes me feel less like I'm making stuff up on the spot and he likes when I tell him I found the answer the next day

WWyatt C.RegularDec 23

The water/wet explanation is actually brutal because it IS circular lol. I just tell mine "wet means covered in water" and move on before we get into semantics