When a child asks a question, they are looking for guidance.
I guess I’m dense a lot of the time, but this simple truth has not occurred to me before.
Not that he/she is curious – but that they have already considered the idea in someway.
My tendency here is to just blurt back the answer.
You too?
Give direct and honest answers in the end, of course, but in the beginning let’s end more sentences in question marks, ok?
Understand: Learning how to think is infinitely better than learning what to think.
Usually when a child asks a question she’s already done some thinking about the answer. What she can use is an adult who will act as a sounding board to help her explore her thoughts further. There’s always time for the adult to supply the “correct” answer later if it still seems important.
-Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Amazon)