When Toddlers Ask “Why?”

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I don’t know about your toddler, but Tara is definitely in the “Why mommy?” stage.  She doesn’t pose the question all the time, but lately, in response to a command given to her, such as “Tara please pick up your crayons,” she’ll ask me “Why mommy?”  In our home, the approach we’ve taken in regards to the expectation of obedience is this: when a command is issued, our children are to say “Yes m’am” or “Yes sir” and immediately obey the command. The first time.

I do not believe Tara was being disobedient when asking my “why?” in response to something I told her to do.  She is genuinely curious about many things, including why in the world I would tell her to do something!  In fact, I am thankful that she asks questions, it’s one of the best ways to learn!

However, I do want to keep the same pattern with which we began…”Yes m’am” and then scooting to action.

So instead of barking at her for not obeying me, by God’s grace, He helped me see right away that these moments lend wonderful teaching opportunities.  My response the first time (and several times thereafter! we are a bit forgetful at three) was to explain that when I tell her to do something, it’s important that she respond with “Yes m’am,”  move to action and then she may ask me why.

Are your toddlers full of questions these days?

This post is part of Homemaking Link-up over at Raising Homemakers