Why do kids ask WHY? And why do they question everything there is and everything there isn’t?
Analyze this.
On an average a four year old asks about 400 questions in a day. And why do they ask? It’s simple. They want to know. They want to learn. One of the basic differences between an intelligent child and the not- so-intelligent child is the number of questions they ask. When they question they learn. Their thinking pattern evolves. They then move on to the next WHY! The brain is designed as a pattern detector; perceiving relationships and making CONNECTIONS that are fundamental to the learning process. Brain activity in children aged 3 to 10 is more than twice that of the adults, and although new synapses continue to be formed throughout life, the brain will NEVER be able to master new skills so readily or rebound from setbacks so easily. By the age 3, the brain has formed about 1,000 trillion connections—about twice as many as adults have. After they have crossed “the promise years” at the age of 10, connections that are used repeatedly in the early years become permanent; those that are not are eliminated.
Fact
Though it is known that a child’s intelligence is determined largely on genetics, research shows that by an active participation of the child in various activities, we can ensure growth in the intellectual capabilities of the child. Effective teaching enables children to use all their senses and intelligences.
The next time you are busy working and choose to ignore your child’s “not-so-important question”, think again. Oops, your child just made a new connection!
Saturday, July 4th, 2009, 6:28 pm | 
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July 7, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Dear Nameetha,
Excellent Observation. I do agree with you that when a child asks questions, we need to exercise our patience to answer them according to situation.
But some questions raised by the tots are not worth answering because it gives bad taste( Just like Curious George) . However, if we can control the situations mixed with emotions and handle them carefully , it adds to their intelectual growth and understanding.
July 9, 2009 at 4:29 am
Nice Article!! It’s an education to the elders to have enormous patience with kids. But the fact is most of us doing have it. It’s practically very difficult to answer questions one after the other after a tiring day.
However after knowing that this will help the child develop intellectually acquire a little patience wouldn’t be impossible for us.
Thanks
May 25, 2010 at 8:55 am
It was good to know that the more the child questions, the more they learn. My toddler is going to be 2 yrs soon and for every other thing she has why/what or how…as said by someone earlier..its a bit difficult to answer every question after a tiring day…but knowing this..I guess all we need is little more patience…Thanks Nameetha:-)