I’ve mentioned before that we are fully in the throes of the “why stage”. At times it’s fun because you never think of some of the reasons “why” we do things. Sometimes it’s agonizing, why does the moon only come up at night…oh, you don’t know the answer? Why?…because you don’t know everything? Why? ::insert hair pulling::

Of course I add in the “why do YOU think” every now and then. It’s only slightly effective and only a temporary band aid.  This is also the stage where these little sponges turn into little parrots and we hear back some of our own words and sometimes they aren’t so pleasant. I’ve had to revamp some things that just didn’t sound so nice coming out of the mouth of a child, no matter how innocent the original intent. But occasionally, you get a little gem that when it bounces back to you it makes you stop and think.

During a morning car ride that included a barrage of “why” questions, I was stumped and didn’t know the answer. This is how the conversation went. In full disclosure, I can’t for the life of me remember the topic that got us to this point.

            Me: I don’t know, baby?

            Sofia: Why?

            Me: I just don’t have that answer,        I don’t know “why”.

            Sofia: But why? Slow down and tell me why.

            Me: (giggling) Who tells you that? Who says ‘slow down and tell me why’?

            Sofia: YOU!

I was slightly taken aback. It’s not even something I recalled saying. (But I reconfirmed with Grands and yep, it’s mine) She said it calm and the tone was matter of fact, thank goodness. It was said with intent and not as a reprimand, again, thank goodness! I told her “ok, I let me think about it”. And I came up with a good explanation on why I don’t know everything about everything. (I’m sure my husband wishes he could have figured a way to get me to admit that to him.)

I’m glad that she was able to learn a subtle yet effective way to bring me out of distractions or even keep me from getting to a point of frustration. One of the most humbling part of being a parent is going through particular stages with your children. They test boundaries and question everything. They teach you to do the same, if you let them. As a working parent, my time with my children is limited and in that time, I have to fit in having fun, being the caregiver, the teacher, the disciplinarian. Some days, I feel heavy on the disciplinarian and caregiver and a little too light on the fun Mommy and teacher. It’s a tricky balance.

She’s teaching me to “slow down”, I want to encourage her to continue. She’s teaching me to “tell her why” because she still needs me to help her learn. My next 21 day challenge, for myself, is to be more intentional about slowing down with my children and tell them more “whys”. Before I know it, those “whys” may stop but maybe, if I can continue to engage her curiosity, they will hang out a little longer..for both of us.

I’ve mentioned before that we are fully in the throes of the “why stage”. At times it’s fun because you never think of some of the reasons “why” we do things. Sometimes it’s agonizing, why does the moon only come up at night…oh, you don’t know the answer? Why?…because you don’t know everything? Why? ::insert hair pulling::

Of course I add in the “why do YOU think” every now and then. It’s only slightly effective and only a temporary band aid.  This is also the stage where these little sponges turn into little parrots and we hear back some of our own words and sometimes they aren’t so pleasant. I’ve had to revamp some things that just didn’t sound so nice coming out of the mouth of a child, no matter how innocent the original intent. But occasionally, you get a little gem that when it bounces back to you it makes you stop and think.

During a morning car ride that included a barrage of “why” questions, I was stumped and didn’t know the answer. This is how the conversation went. In full disclosure, I can’t for the life of me remember the topic that got us to this point.

            Me: I don’t know, baby?

            Sofia: Why?

            Me: I just don’t have that answer,        I don’t know “why”.

            Sofia: But why? Slow down and tell me why.

            Me: (giggling) Who tells you that? Who says ‘slow down and tell me why’?

            Sofia: YOU!

I was slightly taken aback. It’s not even something I recalled saying. (But I reconfirmed with Grands and yep, it’s mine) She said it calm and the tone was matter of fact, thank goodness. It was said with intent and not as a reprimand, again, thank goodness! I told her “ok, I let me think about it”. And I came up with a good explanation on why I don’t know everything about everything. (I’m sure my husband wishes he could have figured a way to get me to admit that to him.)

I’m glad that she was able to learn a subtle yet effective way to bring me out of distractions or even keep me from getting to a point of frustration. One of the most humbling part of being a parent is going through particular stages with your children. They test boundaries and question everything. They teach you to do the same, if you let them. As a working parent, my time with my children is limited and in that time, I have to fit in having fun, being the caregiver, the teacher, the disciplinarian. Some days, I feel heavy on the disciplinarian and caregiver and a little too light on the fun Mommy and teacher. It’s a tricky balance.

She’s teaching me to “slow down”, I want to encourage her to continue. She’s teaching me to “tell her why” because she still needs me to help her learn. My next 21 day challenge, for myself, is to be more intentional about slowing down with my children and tell them more “whys”. Before I know it, those “whys” may stop but maybe, if I can continue to engage her curiosity, they will hang out a little longer..for both of us.

I’ve mentioned before that we are fully in the throes of the “why stage”. At times it’s fun because you never think of some of the reasons “why” we do things. Sometimes it’s agonizing, why does the moon only come up at night…oh, you don’t know the answer? Why?…because you don’t know everything? Why? ::insert hair pulling::

Of course I add in the “why do YOU think” every now and then. It’s only slightly effective and only a temporary band aid.  This is also the stage where these little sponges turn into little parrots and we hear back some of our own words and sometimes they aren’t so pleasant. I’ve had to revamp some things that just didn’t sound so nice coming out of the mouth of a child, no matter how innocent the original intent. But occasionally, you get a little gem that when it bounces back to you it makes you stop and think.

During a morning car ride that included a barrage of “why” questions, I was stumped and didn’t know the answer. This is how the conversation went. In full disclosure, I can’t for the life of me remember the topic that got us to this point.

            Me: I don’t know, baby?

            Sofia: Why?

            Me: I just don’t have that answer,        I don’t know “why”.

            Sofia: But why? Slow down and tell me why.

            Me: (giggling) Who tells you that? Who says ‘slow down and tell me why’?

            Sofia: YOU!

I was slightly taken aback. It’s not even something I recalled saying. (But I reconfirmed with Grands and yep, it’s mine) She said it calm and the tone was matter of fact, thank goodness. It was said with intent and not as a reprimand, again, thank goodness! I told her “ok, I let me think about it”. And I came up with a good explanation on why I don’t know everything about everything. (I’m sure my husband wishes he could have figured a way to get me to admit that to him.)

I’m glad that she was able to learn a subtle yet effective way to bring me out of distractions or even keep me from getting to a point of frustration. One of the most humbling part of being a parent is going through particular stages with your children. They test boundaries and question everything. They teach you to do the same, if you let them. As a working parent, my time with my children is limited and in that time, I have to fit in having fun, being the caregiver, the teacher, the disciplinarian. Some days, I feel heavy on the disciplinarian and caregiver and a little too light on the fun Mommy and teacher. It’s a tricky balance.

She’s teaching me to “slow down”, I want to encourage her to continue. She’s teaching me to “tell her why” because she still needs me to help her learn. My next 21 day challenge, for myself, is to be more intentional about slowing down with my children and tell them more “whys”. Before I know it, those “whys” may stop but maybe, if I can continue to engage her curiosity, they will hang out a little longer..for both of us.