feel dumb, unable to answer preschooler questions
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Anonymous
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I have a college degree, but I don't know how to answer questions from my 4 year old DD all the time. She would ask me randomly about planets, dinosaurs, organs, animals, plants, ocean, and a bunch of why questions. My weakness is anything related to science, biology & physics, and I have completely forgotten what I have learned from all school years. Her daycare teacher suggests us to expand her vocabularies because she is eager to learn, and there's many concepts/knowledge that she should have known at this age. English is not my first language, and I don't know what knowledge she should have known at this age. Teacher says that she is weak at social science something like that. I remember I did not learn those subjects till 4th grade in my hometown.
Is there any illustration book that I can buy for DD to read (self-learn), or any websites that I can show her? |
Anonymous
| Look stuff up together or create a question book. If you don't know the answer, say you will look it up when you have a chance and get back to her. |
Anonymous
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Relax, she is only 4!
When she asks you something you don’t know, say “ that’s a good question, let’s learn together!” Pull out your phone and google it. Check out National Geographic books for kids. They have really nice pictures and talk about planets, animals etc. |
Anonymous
| It's ok to say you don't know and will look it up later. I've learned all kinds of things through my kid's questions. The library is also a good resource to get books on whatever the interest of the week is. Ex: My kid was asking questions about electricity so I got books from the kids non-fiction section on electricity generally, fossil fuels, and renewable energy. |
Anonymous
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For examples of social sciences that would be relevant to 4 year olds, look at these worksheets and either print them out or at least seek books on these topics and discuss them more.
Maps, flags, feelings, jobs etc. https://www.education.com/worksheets/kindergarten/social-studies/ |
Anonymous
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Whenever my kids (ages 4 and 6) ask questions that I don't know how to answer, I simply say, "I don't know. We can learn more about that if you like." Usually, these are just random questions that pop into their minds and they rarely follow up about it after the conversation is over.
The bigger struggle for me is the existential questions and questions that require answers beyond what I'm comfortable sharing with them: "What happens when someone dies?" "Why can't people live forever?" "Why can't I marry you, mom?" "How does a baby get inside a mom's tummy?" I try to answer the best I can with as many facts as I can, but it can be hard to find the right way to respond. That said, I also recommend the National Geographic books. They are called The Big Book of.... and are really colorful with great pictures. They have a Big Book for weather, space, oceans, and one called the Big Book of Why that has a bunch of random topics in it like, "Why doesn't it hurt when we get our hair cut?" |
Anonymous
This. Detailed questions from a 4 year old can make you realize how little you know about this stuff! My kid is also into electricity and plumbing so we've taken out kids on that. Unfortunately he is not interested in dinosaurs which is one thing I do know a lot about! |
Anonymous
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"That's a good question Larlo! What do you think the answer is? Why don't we go get a book from the library about Pluto/T-rex and we can read it together."
Don't say that you're dumb. Or my mom's favorite when I asked for help with school: "I already passed all my tests and graduated." She'd also say she was dumb a lot. She didn't have the same quest for knowledge that my dad and I share (and one that I hope to pass on to my kids) |
Anonymous
Yes, I often use the "I don't know. Why don't we look it up and find out." and I either get on the computer or on my phone as soon as convenient (like not when I'm driving or we're eating dinner) and we look it up and read it together. However, the question above got me to respond. My twin sons asked me why they couldn't marry each other. I answered that marriage was so that unrelated people who loved one another could become family. They didn't need to marry each other because they were already family by being brothers. Or in your case, your daughter doesn't need to marry you (mom) because she's already family and related to you. This answer worked pretty well when they were 4. |
Anonymous
| Since 4 my now 5 year old just demands that I "google it up, mom!" if answers don't come easy and with sufficient detail (which is most of the time) |
Anonymous
Yes, don't despair, OP. By googling it together, you're modeling good research skills - which is actually more important for your child to know than a series of facts about different things because your child will use those skills to learn! |
Anonymous
Mine liked to "goggle." I'm old enough to still marvel at the world's knowledge available at your fingertips. No need to feel dumb, researching with your kids can be really enjoyable. Your enthusiasm for learning new things will help them to feel the same way. |
Anonymous
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You might like the Usborne books. My kids inexplicably do not like the books, but they have a ton of engaging lift the flap non fiction books.
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Anonymous
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Why can't you say you'll look it up? DS asks questions all the time. Now he's at the point where if I say I don't know he says "ok, can we Google it later?".
DS also self taught a lot of things with YouTube videos and then once he could read a lot of Usborne books |
Anonymous
| Look up the answers together. Not a big deal. Make sure you discuss the answers that you find. |