1000 Questions a Day

Updated on May 26, 2010
K.T. asks from Lisle, IL
14 answers

My son just turned 6 and he asks about 1000 questions a day! I keep on saying I'm going to get one of those clicker counters to count! I know this is very normal behavior for his age and I love his curiosity and wanting to know how things work, etc. I sometimes try the "what do you think?" approach, refer him to books etc.... However, it is starting to drive me crazy as it seems I am "feeding the beast" and he wants more, more more! I know some of it is just attention, as when he is with me he want 100% of me focused on him. We are also working on limits, ie. mommy and me time, by himself time.

Frankly some days it is so exhausting I just want to plug into the ipod! I am dreading him getting out of school in a couple of weeks, because that means more questions! He will be going to some day camps, etc. He is good at quiet play time, reading books etc. I am limiting TV time and video game use as the weather is really nice out and I want him to be outside.. He is my only child and I am SAHM so that doesn't help. We do play dates 1 - 2 times a week and he is in school 1/2 days. He also participates in sports 1x a week and piano 1x a week. So he is well socialized and spends time with other kids/people. It doesn't bother my husband as much, but he isn't with him all day, however I do hear him ask for my son to give it a rest....so I know its get to him too, I think he just tells me it doesn't bother him so I quit complaining!

I know one day he won't ask me anything, so I don't wants to crush his questions, just curb them a bit. How did you do it?

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions and support! I will be trying them out asap. Here's the funny thing....he hasn't asked me not one question today! So there you go. I'm sure this phase will pass too...just was running out of ideas on how to encourage and not discourage him, and still be able to keep it positive! Thanks!

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A.H.

answers from New York on

keep answering.. and ask him what he thinks... that's good. My daughter was a big question person.. and would drive us nuts.. but if you answer them.. or get him books with lots of answers.. it's great.. my daugther is above average in all things at school and they say it's because she asked so many questions... She excels in school.. so keep the questions coming.. good luck.. let him watch the discovery channel and look for websites like discovery where he can learn... it's a big world and lots to know..

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K.B.

answers from Houston on

Six is tough but maybe have a "Curiosity Box" for him. He can write down questions he thinks of or things that he wants to know more about and then set aside time each day with him to see what he came up with for the day. You can review the qustions ahead of time to see if there are any recurring themes and then find a website to look at together or a book that will answer his questions. You can take some of his questions to the library once in a while too.

Good luck,
K.

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T.G.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughters seem to talk 24/7, asking so many questions that at times I think I may have "tuned" them out. I will tell you this. One of them is now 9 and she is a "high" honors student. She gets straight A+ in all her classes and is in a gifted program.

It might feel like your head is ready to explode and you might want to put ear plugs in. We have probably all been there. This is such an important time for them. They are little sponges.

The best thing you can do when you need a break is to tell him that "mommys brain needs to rest for a little while." Set the stove timer and tell him when the timer goes off you'll be able to answer more questions. It is good to turn it around and ask him what he thinks.

Enjoy this time, because when they hit 13 they know everything and you know nothing!!

3 moms found this helpful

E.F.

answers from Casper on

There are a few things that I thought of...
you could ask him his question back. A lot of times kids have an idea of what the answer is. It could be a fun game to see what cute things he comes up with.

If you don't know the answer, you could teach him how to find it on his own. like at the library or in books or how to do a search on the internet.

Have him write his questions in a note book. Then every day you could have Q&A time and answer all of them at the same time. Again this could be fun to see what his ideas are too. (if he cant write yet, he could draw pictures)

Or have him write them and save them for Dad when he gets home! He just might love it:)

Good luck
E.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I feel you! And the questions they come up with! LOL (Mine have ranged from "What's the level AFTER heaven?" to "How deep IS the deepest part of the ocean?" to "How exactly do torpedoes explode?" to "Who is in the Football hall of Fame?")
It won't last forever. TRY to enjoy it.
Do you have child safe software for your internet? Show him how to use Google!

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K.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

i'm shock to read that you dread his asking questions. i have a an 8 year old boy and i love his questions. that means he is looking at the world and wants to know about it. i'm glad that he asks me the questions and not a stranger or someone else that is going to give him the wrong answers. i treasure every moment my son and i have together and his asking questions. i admitt that sometimes i don't have the answer and so then we go to the computer and look up the answer-which leads into more questions. and if m son isn't asking questions then he isn't learning!!! think about what you wish for...other parents aren't as lucky as us to have their children able to talk or learn the way our boys are!!!

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T.C.

answers from Austin on

Hang in there! It sounds like you're doing great, having lots of patience. I think all kids go through this stage.

My son is 8, and has Aspergers/ADHD. With him, sometimes the questions are more of a nervous habit or a security thing. He will ask questions he already knows the answers to, repeat the same ones, check to see if I'm really listening, or sometimes he's pretending to be a teacher asking the class questions. He also constantly talks or sings. He walks around the house in the middle of talking to me, not realizing that I don't hear the rest of what he said(that's ADHD for you). One thing that sometimes gets him to stop talking for a couple of minutes is for him to listen to music with headphones. If the talking is driving me crazy I watch TV with the sound off, because I can listen and read at the same time, but I can't listen to 2 things at once.
When he's asking a question because of curiosity(for example what's the melting point of aluminum?), I can tell him That's a great question, let's write it down and look it up on the computer later. Or we can follow up by checking out a book from the library. I want him to keep that desire to learn, but not have to have everything he wants right this minute.

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D.B.

answers from Chicago on

My son is the exact same way! He is very bright, and I know the constant questions come from his mind always working. However, he'll even ask obvious questions, or ones he knows the answer to. What I have been telling him is before he asks a question, that he has to stop and think if he knows the answer already or if he can easily figure out. If he can't, then he can ask me. Like, he is interested in crabs, and will ask me a question about the length of their legs. I will ask him how he could find that answer out for himself, and he will tell me to go check his fact sheet in his book on crabs.
Sometimes I think he just ask these questions as a way to connect or just to hear himself ask it!
So far my approach has been working out as far as curbing the amount of questions.
hope this helps!

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

I bought my daughter a book called, "How Does Popcorn Pop?" and she loved it! She spent a lot of time readng it and has since moved on to other similar books. We also let her look things up on google or in Wikipedia(while supervised). I found it very helpful to show my daughter how to find answers on her own and then you can field the questions that can't be answered by a book. It cuts your answering time quite a bit.

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J.W.

answers from Chicago on

My 3 year old asks me so many questions, sometimes he doesn't even wait for me to answer before he asks another one! I know this is a sign of his intelligence, and I'm grateful for that, but somedays I just need a break. He even asks me deep theological and spiritual questions that make me think really hard before I answer him. So far, he hasn't stumped me, but pretty soon we will be looking at Wikipedia online for answers to his questions. If he really wants to see the way something works, we will try to do a science project or take a field trip somewhere that can show him. Sometimes I do tell him that we need to ask daddy when he gets home from work, and redirect him to something else. Other times, I have to tell him that mommy's head hurts and that he needs to be quiet for one minute. LOL. Parenting is so much harder than I thought it would be, but totally worth it. Good luck!

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L.N.

answers from New York on

My kids are at their age and they have a lot of questions. I try my best to answer them all but they're so smart and their questions are so good that I don't want to give them the wrong answer if i have no clue what the answer is so I say: let me look into it and I will get back to you.
I have twins and their questions are different, so on days when they are endless questions, and I am getting tired I say ok 10 minutes of no questions pelase, and they're good about it. Or I will get them distracted by saying choose a book on birds (if questions are about birds) and I say let me read you a chapter or two. And I do, the reading gets them to want to draw what was read to them so they go draw and such.
I mean it's ok, I guess it doesn't bother me unless I am sick and need to lie down.

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J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

Welcome to the wonderful world of having a 6 year old. I would briefly answer each question. I know it can be annoying but if he expresses an interest in something in particular try encouraging it by classes etc. When it gets annoying instead of telling him to stop try redirecting him to do something he may enjoy or help you do a chore.

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

At some point, just say, "I can't answer any more questions right now."

Meantime, enjoy it -- it's cute, and the sign of an active mind, and he'll stop doing it one day and you'll miss it!

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A.M.

answers from Chicago on

ahhhhh. My daughter is 3 and she at times only converses in questions. I have been patiently answering them all for maybe 9 months now since she was around 30 months old and was wondering when the questioning might dial down a notch. And now you tell me your son is 6 and some of the other parents have 8 year old constant questioners. Ahhhhhh that means years more.
I have no idea what to do except keep answering the questions and occasionally diverting her attention.

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