Why?

Gracie's favorite question these days is "Why?" She asks why about almost everything. I love the fact that she is expressing her curiosity. Sometimes, though, she asks me a question, and as soon as I finish explaining it, she says "Tell me again, why?" Occasionally I turn it around and ask her to try to explain it to me.

I am reminded of a quote from the book I am currently reading, Home Education by Charlotte Mason:

"The child must think, get at the reason why of things for himself, every day of his life, and more each day than the day before. Children and parents both are given to invert this educational process. The child asks 'Why?' and the parent answers, rather proud of this evidence of thought in his child. There is some slight show of speculation even in wondering 'Why?' but it is the slightest and most superficial effort the thinking brain produces. Let the parent ask 'Why?' and the child produce the answer, if he can. After he has turned the matter over and over in his mind, there is no harm in telling him––and he will remember it––the reason why."

(I am really enjoying the book! It can be read online on the Ambleside Online web site.)

Sometimes Gracie asks why when I tell her to do something. When I was little, I told myself that I would never answer the question "Why?" with "Because I said so." Now that I'm a mom, I have said that more than once. Sometimes when I ask her to do something, there really isn't any compelling reason that she should do it except that I am her mother and I expect her to obey.

Sometimes Gracie's "Why?" just strikes me as funny. Today at lunch she kept sniffling and blowing her nose. Finally I concluded that she must have a problem, so I asked her about it. She said she had some paper up her nose. Fortunately, it was where I could see it, and she was able to blow it out easily. I then instructed her to never put objects up her nose. I should have anticipated her response: "Why?"