Child: What’s that?
You: An Apple.
Child: What’s that?
You: A Knife.
Child: What are you doing?
You: Cutting the apple with the knife.
*30 seconds goes by*
Child: What’s that?
You: AN APPLE!
If you’ve EVER been around any children under the age of 5 then you’ve, no doubt, witnessed or been a part of a conversation just like this one. Despite knowing exactly what you’re doing, what you’re doing it to, and why you’re doing it in the first place, they ask you about it. Maybe you’ve been around the block a few times and you’ve learned to roll with it. Or maybe it drives you further up the wall of insanity with each passing day. Either way, it makes one wonder, why do children do this?
The answer, much like the answer to most of the things kids under age 5 do, is simple: they are imitating you. As a species, human beings learn by watching and imitating. This is why kids like to put on yours shoes, eat what you’re eating, drink what you’re drinking, watch what you’re watching, do what you’re doing, and play with whatever thing you happen to have in your hands.
I know you are probably thinking, “but my kid has never seen me question someone else like that! Why would I ask someone a question I already know the answer to?!”. But consider, carefully, the fact that your child is a “someone else” too.
Imagine your kid is playing with blocks in the middle of the living room floor. It’s quiet, you’ve been doing some chore, you’ve just finished, and you want to interact with him. “What are you playing with?” Blocks. “What are you building?” A Tower. “What color is that block?” Green. “How many fingers do I have up?” Three. “What color is your shirt?” Purple. “What’s this a picture of?” A Caterpillar. “How do you say Hat in French?” Chapeau.
Ah ha! You knew the answer to every single one of those questions, didn’t you? Well, close enough. The reason why you asked them and whether or not you should is another topic altogether. But at least now you realize that it isn’t the genetic predisposition of our children to annoy us to death that causes them to ask such questions. They are asking because they’ve learned that this is what people do. And they’ve learned this because that’s how you act toward them.