Former health visitor and author of Happy Baby, Happy Family Sarah Beeson MBE answers real mums’ questions in Mother & Baby.
How I can stop my two-year-old asking the same thing again and again? She doesn’t stop even when I’ve given her the answer!
Congratulations on having a wonderfully curious child. Children love to ask for information but they also love to ask questions repeatedly as it feels familiar and secure like repeating a favourite nursery rhyme.
Your inquisitive toddler likes the security of you talking to her and having your attention. It can be a way of them starting up a conversation as they don’t realise it’s frustrating for adults to be repeatedly asked the same thing. So think of it as the interaction that counts rather than the imparting of knowledge.
To relieve the tedium you could vary the answers and if you’re feeling creative make up a game where you can discover more by going to the library or on a hunt.
Try not to show your natural feelings of frustration and praise your toddler by saying, ‘That’s an interesting question. What do you think?’ Putting the answering responsibility back to them.
Enjoy the chat as much as you can because right know your tot thinks you really do have all the answers. It’s an opportunity to see the world through their enquiring eyes.
Sarah Beeson’s MBE is a former health visitor and author of parenting guide Happy Baby, Happy Family and health visiting memoir Our Country Nurse published by HarperCollins available in paperback, eBook and audiobook.