It’s unpredictable
If what he would ask us about would come as a surprise, more astonishing would be how such a question comes up in him. As silly as a kid, as wise as a sage they have been of myriad kinds.
It’s non-stop!
His little explorer mind is accompanied by verbal questions throughout the day trapping me in between amazement and impatience; did I forget ‘finding answers’?
It’s amazing!
To realize there’s a little brain near me which shows a fresh new perception about the world around it, unaffected by familiarity and conditioning.
As an infant, when he stared at the wall for long, I wondered what is that he could be thinking about, or if at all, he was thinking. For the first time when he noticed his reflection on the mirror, I was amused as to what it would mean to him. And so were several other moments in the first two years. It took a while before he could frame sentences clearly, almost three, but when once he did, it reflected the clarity of thoughts and words he had been working on all the while. Now, as he is nearing four, the number of questions he has bombarded on us in the last year has become countless. I am sure I might have missed to save several of them in my memory’s folder. Of what has remained, here are twenty of his questions that stands out in me:
I have lived three decades. Honestly, I haven’t given a thought about this. It was just a few weeks after he turned three when he asked me this question. Behind the wit, I was surprised to understand that he has learnt that it’s the food we eat which comes out. I couldn’t give a convincing answer then, so had to use the age-old teachers’ dialogue, “I shall check and let you know.”
Thankfully they aren’t lower on the walls. It’s hard to imagine the experiments he would have done with them 😆 I could convincingly answer him this time, in fact demonstrated using a torch light.
Since he was young, I have explained Sunset as ‘Sun going home’. When he asked me this question last month, I knew he is ready to learn the Earth/Sun cycle. After I had explained, when I asked him what he understood, he replied, “It’s the Earth that goes home everyday, not the Sun.” 😯
#4
One of his Lego man toys carries a mega phone (loud speaker) in his hand. While playing with it last week, I explained that it amplifies the sound so as to reach a larger crowd. His inquisitive mind was doing some quick processing and at the end he asked me, “Then what is that my maam was holding in her hand during the school function?”
I felt speechless! He meant a mic used on stage functions. And what surprised me was that he could relate two different objects (with similar functions) observed at two different places.
This was yesterday’s bedtime question, when I was almost sure he’s sound asleep 😯 Imagine how difficult it is to put him to sleep, ufff!
This was one of the recent questions. While we were driving to school, he was taking out his sunglasses on and off and turning his head to right and left. I could sense his brain was cooking up something and he came up with this. I wasn’t sure if I knew the answer and sometimes even if I know, it’s confusing from where to start and with what level of understanding should the explanation be.
This was during a long family drive. The dad mumbled in reply…. something….axle…something….motor….rotate….something and finally decided he’ll check about it. By now he must have understood mom’s tab and dad’s laptop know better than them. No wonder kids respect these more 😆
For a second, I thought so too – why? 😆
I turned hurriedly to check if he has slid something into his nose. Ha! He meant the bone inside his nose. It has felt like the wooden blocks he plays with.
He is asking me this as I am writing this post. Such questions come when he is quietly lying down and staring at something. This time it was his tummy. So it’s time for a quick class on breathing and respiration. Let me quickly wind up the rest of the questions here:
Sometimes I feel I haven’t lived my childhood like his. Never have such questions crossed me.
With children around, we learn, think and learn how to think more than what we did in school. They possess the best of world’s brains!
What questions of your little ones do you remember? Please share in the comments below. Let’s learn the world again through their fresh little eyes!
If you wish to answer any of his questions, please do. We love to give him a new perspective of the things he learns.
Background Image Sources:
#1 – embraceablemind.com #2 – hellinahandbasket.net #3 – worldreportnow.com #4 – lego.wikia.com #5 – southernliving.com #6 – inquisitr.com #7 – tuticare.com
#8 – kokorosot.info #9 – sergey1984.deviantart.com #10 – avenueclinic.co.uk #11 – stuffpoint.com
Very interesting post. Loved reading it.
Thanks Jyotirmoy!
He reminds me of my daughter and my brother when he was young. They have minds that explore. Feed his mind. Make sure you answer all the questions and never discourage him for asking them. If you really don’t know the answer for a question, tell him that you don’t but you will find out for him. Then find out and tell him. It will teach him that it is okay not to know all the answers but what is important is keep trying to find them.
Yes, I love when he asks questions. Sometimes it skips from my mind what I promised to find and tell him but I need to get more serious on it. Thanks a lot for your thoughtful input.