When your child stops asking questions: What could be wrong?

Ige Olumuyiwa, Facilitator, Lagooz Schools

Daddy, why is the sky blue?”

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“Why does the moon follow our car?”

“Why do I have to sleep early?”

At first, the questions seem endless. Then, one day, you notice something strange.

The questions have stopped.

Your child no longer asks why. He does not wonder aloud. He simply accepts things and moves on.

For some parents, this may feel like a relief. Finally, some peace and quiet!

But sometimes, when a child becomes unusually quiet, it may not mean that everything is fine. It could be a sign that their curiosity is slowly disappearing.

Children learn by asking questions. But when their questions are repeatedly dismissed, mocked, or met with irritation, they may eventually learn to keep them to themselves.

“Stop asking questions.”

“You ask too many questions.”

“Is that even a sensible question?”

Repeated often enough, these words can make a child afraid to speak, afraid to be wrong and, eventually, afraid to be curious.

The same can happen when children are never given the opportunity to explore or think for themselves because adults are always providing the answers.

Curiosity needs encouragement.

When your child asks a difficult question, you do not always need to have the answer. Sometimes, saying, “I don’t know. Let’s find out together,” is one of the best answers you can give.

And when a child gives a wrong answer, correct the mistake without making the child feel foolish.

A good learning environment does not punish curiosity. It nurtures it.

Education is not just about filling a child’s head with answers. It is also about developing a mind that wants to understand, investigate and discover.

So, the next time your child asks you a question that sounds obvious, difficult or even amusing, pause before answering.

You may not just be answering a question.

You may be protecting a curious mind.