Kids are little geniuses. They absorb every little thing around them which means they ask a lot of questions. You might start to feel like a search engine as you struggle to answer the endless questions. Good news for you, we have 12 of the most common questions kids ask and how to answer the burning questions.
Table of Contents
1. What Do You Do When I Go to Bed?
Kids often think the party starts when they hit the pillow. Explain to them that it’s important they need a break after going hard all day. Their brain and body are working together to help them as they grow and learn. They need more sleep than we do. Make sure they understand that you aren’t doing anything wild and fun when they go to sleep. You are probably doing chores, watching television, or just relaxing. Your body simply doesn’t need as much rest as theirs does.
2. Why Is the Grass Green?
Our eyes can perceive grass as green because during photosynthesis the cells of the grass absorb pigment from the sun, let’s quickly remember that photosynthesis is the process where plants take the light from the sun to produce sugar, which that sugar is then used for their food. The pigment is called Chlorophyll and grass is full of that. Chlorophyll can absorb other colors such as red or blue, but it mostly reflects green, since this is the pigment that grass absorbs the most during photosynthesis, our eyes can see grass with its characteristic greenish color.
Sunlight is composed of a spectrum of colors, the colors of the rainbow to be exact, plants. The color of the plants depends on which color of sunlight it reflects the most. So, the reason why grass and most plants are green is that they all have this pigment in their cells called Chlorophyll, which allows them to reflect that green color from the sun.
3. Why Do People Speak Different Languages Than Me?
This one of the most important questions kids ask because it opens the doors to learning about all kinds of cultures and people. Tell them that thousands of years ago people began to form their own languages in their communities. Languages evolved as the earth changed. A foreign language might be confusing, but it is also very interesting to see what we can learn from these languages and cultures. Other people may think our language is strange, too.
4. Why Do We Get Sick?
If we take our vitamins and eat healthy food, it’s confusing to children why we still get sick. This is an opportunity to tell them about germs. Tell them these microscopic things travel through the air and into our bodies. Sometimes we cannot fight off the bad guys. Explain the difference between viruses, germs, and illnesses like cancer. This isn’t to scare them, but to inform them. You can be honest that sometimes people do pass away from illness, but usually, it can be fixed with medication and resting.
5. What Happened to Do the Dinosaurs?
This is tough to answer because there are a dozen different theories about what happened to the dinosaurs. Explain to them that 65 million years ago most researchers agree an asteroid slammed into the earth. The animals couldn’t adapt to all of the changes. Explain that dinosaurs provide proof that the world has changed over millions of years. They can then let their minds go wild with the answers. This is often the start of a love of science for many kids.
6. Why Don’t We Show Others Our Private Parts?
Kids are free with their bodies and often don’t get why we don’t just strip down in public. We don’t show them to anyone but a trusted adult. If someone tries to touch them, explain the importance of telling an adult. This is your chance to explain in as easy of a way as possible about the body. Kids need to understand safe boundaries. They don’t need to let friends see their private parts or run around naked either.
7. Why Do My Friends Have More Toys Than Me?
There are not enough toys in the world for any kids. Tell them that parents sometimes spend more money on toys than other things. Explain to them that it’s very easy to get envious, but toys don’t bring them happiness. This is actually a great way to talk about money. You can talk about the importance of spending and saving your money. Talk about how your family likes to spend money and ways you can also donate to people that need money. You can also branch out into talking about wants and needs.
8. Why Do You Cry When You’re Happy?
Kids may think tears are only for sad times. Tell them that emotion is a strong thing. When you’re happy, it makes you feel even better to cry. Sometimes we cry out of happiness because we’re feeling both sad and happy. We may cry because they’re growing up and we’re sad, yet excited for them. They may think we’re a little crazy, but explain feelings are okay. It’s just fine to cry about anything. They are always welcome to ask you what you’re feeling when they see you crying.
9. Where Does Our Water Come From?
Simply put, water is from the ocean. This might lead to asking why we don’t just drink out of the ocean. Tell them that the surface of the Earth is 97% water. Water is found in streams, rivers, snow, and lakes. Our drinking water is usually from surface water or groundwater. This is made from snow and rain that gets into the ground. We harvest the groundwater and make it into drinking water. Tell them don’t drink straight out of places water is found because it can make you very sick.
10. Why Do I Have to Invite That Kid to My Party?
Some kids want everyone to come to their party while others only want a few close friends. Explain to them that it’s important to invite everyone so their feelings don’t get hurt. We need to always be kind and welcoming to other people. Some kids are different than you, and that’s perfectly okay. You never know when you’ll connect with someone different and become best friends. Talk to them about groups and school and how you should always welcome others into your circle of friends. If you start young, you’ll lend a welcome hand into your adult years.
11. What Makes the Sky Blue?
This is one of the most common questions because kids start to wonder about the sky and the grass colors. Explain to them the science of the sky. The beautiful color of the sky is because of the lights that are in the air. Molecules form at sunrise and sunset showing you red and oranges. As colors pass through the sun, the blue oscillates faster than the other colors. The sunlight colors entering the atmosphere are more of a blue tint. Our eyes are very sensitive to blue light, so we see more of the blue in the sky.
12. Why Do You Make Me Eat Vegetables?
You don’t want to start a fight, but most kids like to run from vegetables. Explain to them that these healthy foods give them vitamins, energy, and antioxidants to keep them healthy. It might not be as fun to eat veggies, but they are a part of your diet.
Tell the kids that they can help make vegetables fun with cheese or dipping sauce. They don’t have to be boring food.
13. Why Are There Homeless People?
It’s important that your child noticed the homeless person. Explain that some people have lost their jobs or are too sick to take care of themselves. Some people don’t have a strong support system. It’s important that you teach your child to offer help by giving food to the homeless or donating to a shelter. Children think everyone lives exactly the way they live. They don’t understand that other people may not have a warm house and bed. You should be open and honest with them without scaring them.
14. Why Is the Flag at Half-Mast?
Every country is different and each one of them has its own traditions. However, generally, a flag at half-mast symbolizes mourning or respect, in some cases, it could mean salute as well. The flag at half-mast could mean the death of a high-ranking politician, such as the president or a governor, for example, or the death of a royal family member. In simple terms, it could be used to symbolize national mourning.
It’s not only used for the deaths of important political figures, it can also be used to express the mourning of an important citizen, someone who made great accomplishments for their country. Lastly, a flag at half-mast can also represent a natural disaster or a national tragedy such as the 11/09, giant bushfires, earthquakes, this is for honoring the loss of an immense number of lives. It’s to remind people of any form of tragedy that took place in the country.
15. How do you spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
A common question asked by kids after watching Mary Poppins is how do you spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? The answer is:
su•per•ca•li•fra•gil•is•tic•ex•pi•a•li•do•cious
For a full explanation of why and the origins of the word, here’s a great article.