Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school keeping up with all their questions

All day long, I realize the limits of my knowledge as my DD4.4 asks questions about how email is transmitted across the Internet, how the sun was formed, what is inside of bones, how breast milk is made in the body, how our septic system works,questions about the gas planets, why certain things were given a particular name, the names of obscure things, questions about viruses, and on and on. I usually give an answer on the fly then check it online, and I do just fine, but I am starting to wonder what things will be like in a few years. As she is able to search the Internet better, she will be able to ask the computer some of these questions (not that I am shucking of my responsability). I think all four year olds ask a ton of questions, but hers are nearly continuous. How do you handle this?

If I don't know we go and look it up. We borrow a book from the library or we google. I like that my boy knows that I am not the source of all knowledge, and I hope that it helps him a little with his perfectionism (just like model graceful mistake making for him).

Exactly like GreenGully says! BTW - this discription of your DD gives me the feeling that she has a 'rather higher LOG' more than the early reading.

Anyway - once DD starts devouring those DK miniencyclopedias on her own you will actually miss those questions. You can energize her efforts to figure it out for herself.

Sometimes at this age, they are using questions as a conversation starter. You can encourage this by giving a different sort of answer: "How do you think emails ar transmitted?" Then, if she'll tell you, you can say - I love your explanation. Would you write a little book about what you just said?
Then, if she still has interest, you can invite her to read more stuff about it and update the book. Most knowledge is constantly being updates.

Then you can model the process of having a thesis, hunting for more information to expand/clarify/contradict and updating the little book.

That way she learns to research, and you do less of the heavy lifting.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

thanks, Grinity. I do turn things back on her quite a bit. I often ask her what she thinks the answer is to things I think she can handle on her own, but guess I didn't think she had enough general knowledge to tackle some of the bigger questions yet. When I taught, I was big on the Socratic method and I remember one student accusing me of not knowing anything since I asked them, but as I said to my husband last night, I want her to learn to think for herself and trust her own mind so I do actually see what she can do on her own. We do get books on topics and look things up online, but the amount of questions throughout the day is nearly continuous.

LOL! Even if the question is 'too big' it's fun to listen to what they come up with.

If she is willing to write her quesions down for later during 'mommy breaks' that might give you more of a feeling of control. Is that a possiblity?

Maybe you could start by dictating a list of questions that you come up with.

I don't think this will keep up forever. I always valued reminders that childhood is short.

People ask how I can bear having my son at boarding school this year. 'Especially since you two are so close' - I tell them that I feel not one bit cheated, since I did 18 years (or more) worth of parenting in the first 13 years. I'll bet you know exactly what I mean, yes?

Love and MOre Love,
Grinity

how do i handle this? google. lol. i don't know all the answers to his questions(he is also 4 1/2). sometimes to quench his thirst i will buy him something with just lots of facts. he loves his leapster and loves this game called animal genius. it has so many random animal facts that he enjoys playing and memorizing, and then quizzing me, "did you know that......." to which i will honestly answer no most of the time. i do find when he has more to dive into and find knowledge on his own....he is less in the mood to ask me 57 new questions i can't answer in the car on the way home from the store. lol.

How did parents manage before Google?! The other day DD8 wanted to know the temperature of the sun and Google came through for us.

I was wondering why you decided to send your son to boarding school? Was this instead of early college?