But Why? —Halloween Edition!

Illustration by Leanne Hatch

But Why? Doesn't that sound like a familiar question? I know I hear it daily. And I am not talking about the "but why do I have to do this?" question that feels like defiance. I am talking about the curiosity of my children. Why is ice cream so good? Why is the moon still out if it is light outside? Why does she make friends easier than I do? The list goes on. You may be asking yourself, is this normal for my child to ask so many questions? YES, it is! Children ask questions because they are trying to make sense of the world around them. Research shows that the more questions your child asks, the more your child is learning. So how does one answer all of these questions:

1) Answer them.

2) Research Together.

3) Maybe you don't know. Accept that and tell your child you honestly don't know.

4) Turn the question back on them. What do you think? Why? Shall we look this up?

5) If you don't have time or patience. Simply say, "That is a great question; I need to finish this right now, but we can talk about it in 5 minutes or so." Then, make sure you follow up.

Scary Mommy has a great article on this very topic. [1]

But lately, my go-to has been a podcast for just these questions. It is called 'But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids. But Why? Is a show led by kids! They ask the questions and the podcast producers find the answers. It tackles topics large and small. Your child can also record a question and send it to them. I also like that they ask experts in the field of the topic to answer the questions. The bonus is that there are coloring pages and learning guides. [2]

We are currently listening to the Halloween episode! Since it is October, Halloween has been on our minds. Here are a few questions that my family has had:

Why do we celebrate Halloween? Where did Halloween start? Why do we have Halloween? Why do we dress up? Why do we carve pumpkins? Why do we say Trick-or-Treat? Are we supposed to do a Trick? And so on.

If you are interested too in All Hallows' Eve, listen; otherwise, this is a must podcast worth trying!

Do you have any go-to Podcasts for your family?

Parenthood, PodcastsMakia MatheisComment