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Expert Q&A
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| By Harriet S. Worobey, M.A. Early Childhood Educator Director, the Nutritional Sciences Preschool | ||
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How can I help my 3-year-old understand the concept of "why" questions?
It sounds as if you have a very bright and verbal 3-year-old. The concept of "why" is the most abstract and naturally the last one that the young children will master. Think of the difficulty you are having explaining what "why" means, and you will see why the concept is a hard one to learn! Being able to explain what happened is quite a challenge for most children who have just turned 3. They often get frustrated by the lack of vocabulary they possess to express their emotions. So I definitely would NOT be concerned. In terms of explaining what "why" means, I would explain that why is the reason behind what happened. For example, what happened is that you fell down and scraped your knee. Why it happened is that you tripped over a rock on the ground. Giving concrete examples will help her get the idea. You can also act it out with dolls or stuffed animals: Uh, oh, the doll fell. What made the doll fall? (Let her answer.) Then repeat: Why did the doll fall? (If she can't answer, fill in the first answer she gave.) Hope this game helps. But meanwhile, don't worry. Her natural linguistic skills and repeated experiences with other people using language will soon help her catch on.
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